Antonia Gentry Network

Let Antonia Gentry’s People StyleWatch shoot be your summer mood board.

Shot by Rosaline Shahnavaz in New York City, the Ginny & Georgia star, 27, graces the digital cover in bright, splashy hues, fueling excitement for the season ahead.

“I really loved that sort of retro, throwback, modernized feel for summer,” stylist Sarah Slutsky Tooley told PEOPLE on set. “So that was exciting. I try to approach each project with an open mind and do extensive research no matter the scope of the project. If you don’t open your eyes and look at everything, you might miss the perfect little opportunity.”

No detail was left unturned. Tooley explains that Gentry’s colorful, poolside vibes are an ode to classic styles.

“I was looking at photos with my family when I was home recently of my grandmother at the beach and she for sure would’ve been wearing a great high-waisted pair of denim with her swim top, hair up in a handkerchief or whatever,” she says. “It’s fun to think of what has always worked, continues to work. I think it’s a good way to also think sustainably about fashion.”

The stylist embraced modern silhouettes, too. In one shot, Gentry lounges on a beach chair wearing a colorful half-zip sweater, orange shorts and blue-and-white plaid socks, all by Gigi Hadid’s brand Guest In Residence.

In another, the actress sports a red Patou bubble skirt and matching top with a large bow on the back.

“I think Patou in particular is really a new sort of French femininity, playful, youthful,” says Tooley. “It’s a brand that I really just adore and always get excited to work with.”

Hairstylist Nai’vasha and founder of Curl Queen envisioned Gentry’s curls looking “free and flowy, wild and liberated.”

“I really wanted her hair to have movement and to just feel free like summer,” the stylist shares. To achieve an effortless look, Nai’vasha used Curl Queen Royal Nectar Hair Oil.

“I want her to have shine,” she says. “I want her to have moisture and I want her to have nourishment and that’s the perfect product for that. Especially when dry styling.”

When it came to her makeup, makeup artist Charlie Riddle wanted to channel Gentry’s “warm, light energy.”

“When I see Antonia, and just think her energy, it feels very summer to me,” he explains. “… It’s just this really fresh, glowing, skin, and her freckles. She brings sunshine. She’s joyful, and just a pleasure to be around.”

To bring out her “natural sheen and glow,” Riddle used Vieve Skin Nova Primer and Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer. For soft color, he added Refy Lip Blush Balm in Amber and Stila Cream Blush in Camellia. Dior Lip Glow Oil in 061 Poppy Coral added a hint of shine to the lips.

On her eyes, Riddle opted for MAC’s Connect in Colour Eyeshadow Palette, which he says added “the perfect amount of warmth to the eyes.”