Sailor Brinkley Cook’s SI Swimsuit Aruba Shoot Is Your Perfect Summer Mood Board

Cook returned to the fold after an adorable debut with Christie Brinkley and Alexa Ray Joel in Turks & Caicos.

Sailor Brinkley Cook was photographed by Yu Tsai in Aruba. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

When Sailor Brinkley Cook hit the luscious, fine-grained shoreline in Aruba for her first solo shoot with SI Swimsuit, the team couldn’t shake a very familiar feeling.

“She’s mesmerizing,” SI Swimsuit editor in chief MJ Day said on set with Brinkley Cook. “She is that ‘girl next door.’ She is that 2018 reincarnation of what her mom stood for, but she is very much her own.”

Brinkley Cook, daughter of SI Swimsuit icon Christie Brinkley, made her debut in the fold with a 2017 shoot with her mother and stepsister Alexa Ray Joel in Turks & Caicos. In awe of her talent, the New York native was invited back the following year for her own rookie feature on the Caribbean Sea. See our favorite photos from that shoot.

Sailor Brinkley Cook was photographed by Yu Tsai in Aruba. Swimsuit by Beach Bunny Swimwear. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

“We’re on Flamingo Beach and it couldn’t be a more perfect morning,” Brinkley Cook declared on set. “I'm so excited.”

Photographed by Yu Tsai, Brinkley Cook debuted a number of intricately detailed suits. These include an Andi Bagus textured magenta bikini, a plunging one-piece adorned in sequins from Milkbaby Bikini by Cat Thordarson and many more.

Sailor Brinkley Cook was photographed by Yu Tsai in Aruba. Swimsuit by Andi Bagus. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

“I love working with Yu Tsai,” Brinkley Cook shared with SI Swimsuit as she complimented the distinguished photographer. “He is such a ball of energy.”

Tsai shared a similar sentiment on the model from set, stating, “She has something so special, so refreshing and so fresh.”

Sailor Brinkley Cook’s Aruba Gallery. dark. Next. Sailor Brinkley Cook’s Aruba Gallery

Sailor Brinkley Cook was photographed by Yu Tsai in Aruba. Swimsuit by ASOS. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

Brinkley Cook’s feature in Aruba marked a milestone at the brand, as she became an inaugural second-generation model at SI Swimsuit.

“It’s pretty awesome that I get to carry my mom’s legacy. It is such a legacy that it is intimidating, but we’re so different,” she stated when she learned of the accomplishment.

Sailor Brinkley Cook was photographed by Yu Tsai in Aruba. Swimsuit by Milkbaby Bikini by Cat Thordarson. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

“She’s always discussing how amazing her career was and how she had so much fun and worked with the best people, so it’s so incredible that I get to work with SI [Swimsuit] and have that same type of career,” the model added of her mom.

It was also her mother—who was featured in the SI Swimsuit Legends shoot in 2014 and 2024—who broke the news to the then-19-year-old that she would take her newest leap as a rookie in the magazine.

Sailor Brinkley Cook was photographed by Yu Tsai in Aruba. Swimsuit by Beach Bunny Swimwear. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

Brinkley’s sentimental send-off to her daughter still makes us emotional, as her daughter prepared to embark on a monumental feat.

“You’re on your own now,” she encouraged her daughter, joining Day in the heartwarming surprise. “You’re out of my sandy footprints and you’re on your own.”

Next. Sailor Brinkley Cook’s Turks & Caicos Gallery. Sailor Brinkley Cook’s Turks & Caicos Gallery. dark