In a surprisingly small studio room, Daniel Dixon shows newly-minted JCPenney photographer Jessica Alvarez his phone. They play a few TikTok videos on repeat, trying to figure out how to pose Dixon and his friends, all wearing matching red plaid shirts purchased at the store moments before. This year, “cheek stacking” and “the lawnmower” are trending, and must be replicated.
TikTok is teaming with videos of nostalgic visions of the 90s and JCPenny plays a starring role. Even Simone Biles participated. As the holidays near, a studio shoot has become a popular Christmas-themed gift, hitting just the right notes of memorable and ironic.
“It was 90s ‘awkward couple’ shoots that got trending last year. And now it's like the ‘awkward family awkward siblings’ that's more relevant this year,” said Jahnai Bell, manager of the portrait studio at one store in Brooklyn.
Bell and her team much prefer Gen Z enthusiasts to screaming babies, and they get creative with poses and have a clear sense of what the client wants. “I wish like more siblings would come and more groups would come and have fun because it is fun for us,” she said.
