New Yorker’s latest obsession? Paying hundreds to recreate nostalgic mall ‘glam photos’ of the ’90s

Hidden in the historic streets of Greenpoint, Brooklyn you’ll find a nondescript black door. Once you’re let in, walk up the steps and two doors on the left will transport you back to the 1990s.
Inside, you’ll find preservationist Marcos Meconi, a 47-year-old Argentinian man with a sleeve of tattoos and short, curly hair, setting up his 250-square-foot studio, Greenpoint Glam.
The space is 100% analog — even the internet is banned. Sandwiched between modern coffee shops and the Greenpoint docks, this is where Meconi has perfected the old-school glamour shot.
Clients come to him for the kind of awkward but adorable, mall photoshoots 90s kids used to beg their parents to take them to. Where they would pose for pictures standing back-to-back with friends, showing off their choker necklaces, slap bracelets and a face full of makeup that was never the right shade.
And as Gen Zers and millennials pine for the past, clients are now more than ever flocking to the throwback king, using his wistful hobby as a marketing tool or for just a fun afternoon.
Originally, Meconi’s studio was a workspace and storage unit for his own retro fascinations like vintage Apple computers from the 80s that fill metal shelves and stacks of cassette tapes — many he mixed himself.
“It’s like Doc Brown’s lab from Back to the Future,” he said, referring to the 1980s sci-fi classic film where Michael J. Fox plays the famous Marty McFly.
The deep-thinking Brooklyn artist craves another era, a time when everything had friction, no one knew how to use the internet and connection was still appealing.
“I Googled nostalgia for something that I had to write about, and it means like the pain of yearning to go home. And I was like, well, that makes sense. That’s all I dream about. You know, I’m an immigrant,” Meconi told The Post.
Originally from Buenos Aires, Meconi came to the US and studied the arts at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, before taking a job at a small advertising agency in NY, where a successful 20-year career editing commercials followed.
In between gigs, he took freelance projects and was even nominated for an Emmy for a documentary called Under Pressure: The U.S. Women’s World Cup Team, a four-part series on Netflix.
“We didn’t win but we should have. Make sure you put that in,” the almost Emmy-winner said.
Shortly after his near-win and in between freelance projects, the Brooklynite decided to lean into his love for bespoke beauty portraits.
So, he turned his studio into a set with a couple of different backdrops, two large lights and old-school light filters — to stay true to the art and has turned his passion for the past into a bustling business.
The glam photographer got his first client in January 2026 — two Zillennial influencers — who saw a flyer in Greenpointers, a neighborhood website catered to Brooklynites where businesses can also advertise.
Using his vintage gear as props, Meconi positioned Kelsey Kotzur and Caroline Sacks in front of the purple backdrop to stand in classic, uncomfortable-looking retro poses.
As if he was back in the 1980s, Meconi popped a mixtape into his Aiwa Retro Boombox CD Player — a modern player with a vintage feel — and got started. The shoot went viral and clients young and old started reaching out to him for that old-school mall glamour shot.
The Brooklyn resident said popular stores like JCPenney or Sears can no longer produce what Greenpoint Glam can. He explained to The Post that the lighting has changed, cameras have been updated and it’s ironically too modern.
Meconi’s clients have no problem forking over hundreds to indulge in a nostalgia that many weren’t even alive for. The photographer charges $300 for a 45-minute, 24-portrait session and a one-hour infomercial shoot will set customers back a whopping $600.
“Clients all said the same things — ‘You’re so good,’” which originally frustrated Meconi because “They haven’t even seen the f***ing picture. Like, how do they know I’m good?” he asked.
“And then I realized, what they’re meaning is that there’s something that we’re creating together, and there’s something about connection with a person and facilitating that, that I may have a skill for,” he added.
A lost art in today’s digitally obsessed era.
To make an appointment, clients can book through his website or call his cheeky number: 1-844-VHS-GLAM.
Once customers are at the studio, they can either bring in their own props or use what Meconi has on his shelves. The Greenpointer suggests coming dressed to glamour shot impress, as the clients who take it “seriously” get the best results.
When The Post visited the small studio on a weekday morning, Meconi was working with Sarah Beth Luciano, a 34-year-old comedian creating short “Tuscan Mom” videos, a satire of a suburban wife who regrets “trading nightlife for marble countertops.”
The two met after Meconi DMed her, offering to help with her current comedy project. They hit it off and Luciano hired him to turn the spoof into a series. Set in his now-perfected 80s infomercial, the collection of clips is called the “Tuscan Mom’s Kitchen,” an advice VHS tape “for girlies who gave it all up.”
“Marcos has such a great eye. He’s insanely talented and loves what he does. He’s a true artist,” the comedian told The Post.
Infomercials are a newer part of the business as Meconi did what he knew best to grow his operation — make more art. He enlisted the help of his partner Tall Milk, a Brooklyn-based multimedia artist whom he tried (and failed) to meet on Tinder and later ran into on the street — “the analog way,” he laughed.
His promos are nearly identical to classic 90s infomercials with exaggerated acting and cheesy dialogue. He even adds the old-school, flashing red “BOOK NOW” block letters that are sure to get people’s attention.
Not only do his advertisements look incredibly accurate, but they also work. Meconi is currently working with Walker & Crown — a mom-and-pop shop that sells vintage watches — and snapping shots of female bodybuilders, looking for the 80s charm.
“We live in the time of AI. Everybody’s scared that all our jobs are going to be taken by robots…. So there’s something about going back to roots and making something together. It’s an experience,” Meconi told The Post.