Founded in Dubai in 2022, ERA. Agency has built its identity around a single conviction: that the past holds an emotional charge the present has forgotten how to create. Founder Khalil Arzenjani speaks to Voyage Immersive about nostalgia, community, and what it means to build a movement, not just a marketing agency.
The Origin Story
Tell us the story behind ERA. What sparked the idea to build an agency entirely around vintage and retro content?
ERA was never created because we saw a gap in the market. It started because I genuinely fell in love with vintage culture.
Growing up, I was fascinated by old films, classic cars, forgotten brands, retro sports, analogue cameras, vintage typography, and the way people used to tell stories before everything became fast and disposable. There was something timeless about that era that today’s world seemed to be missing.
When I started working in marketing, I noticed that almost every agency looked the same. Everyone was chasing trends, making similar videos, using the same editing styles, and speaking the same visual language. I wanted to build the opposite.
So in 2022, I founded ERA in Dubai with one mission: bring timeless storytelling back to modern brands. Today, we don’t just create content. We build experiences inspired by the past that help brands stand out in the present.
Community as Currency
You describe ERA as a community, a brand, a movement. What does that mean in practice, and who makes up this community?
For us, vintage is much bigger than a visual style. It’s a shared passion.
Our community is made up of filmmakers, photographers, collectors, designers, musicians, creators, classic car owners, vintage cafés, retro fashion enthusiasts, and people who simply appreciate craftsmanship and nostalgia.
When we say movement, we mean creating a place where these people can connect, collaborate and inspire each other.
Why Nostalgia Sells
What is it about vintage and retro aesthetics that you think resonates so strongly with audiences today?
The world has become incredibly fast. Every week there’s another trend, another platform, another algorithm telling people what to create.
Vintage reminds us to slow down. It feels human. Film grain, practical effects, handwritten typography, classic colours and real moments all create emotion because they aren’t trying to be perfect.
People don’t miss the past. They miss how the past made them feel. That’s what we try to recreate.
Behind the Process
Take us through a typical ERA production, from concept through to the immersive retro events and shoots you create.
Everything begins with research. Before we pick up a camera, we understand the brand, its history, its audience and what emotional story we want people to remember.
Then we build an entire world around that idea. We source vintage props, wardrobe, locations, vehicles, music references and design elements that fit the story. When filming, we focus on cinematic storytelling rather than simply showcasing products.
If the project includes an event, we extend that same world into a physical experience using retro décor, activations, games, installations and live moments that people can genuinely interact with. Our goal is for someone to feel like they’ve stepped into another era, even if it’s only for a few minutes.
Choosing the Right Partners
How do you choose the brands and clients you collaborate with, and what makes a partnership feel like the right fit?
We look beyond the brief. We look at whether a brand has a story worth telling.
Some businesses have decades of heritage. Others are brand new but want to build something meaningful instead of following trends. Those are the brands we love working with.
The best partnerships happen when clients trust us creatively and are excited to build something different together.
One Story, Many Arms
ERA works across branding, social media strategy, production, and the ERA Jerseys shop. How do these different arms come together to tell one story?
Everything we do connects back to one idea: preserving and celebrating timeless culture.
Branding gives businesses their identity. Production brings that identity to life. Social media shares those stories with the world. ERA Jerseys celebrates vintage football culture, one of the biggest inspirations behind our creative direction.
Although they’re different parts of the business, they’re all connected by the same philosophy: make people feel something they’ll remember.
A Vintage Agency in a Futuristic City
Dubai is known for being fast-forward and futuristic. What is it like building a vintage-focused agency in a city defined by the opposite instinct?
Ironically, that’s exactly why it works. Dubai is constantly building the future. That makes people appreciate authenticity even more.
We’ve found that brands are looking for ways to stand apart from polished corporate marketing. Vintage gives them personality. It creates emotion and conversation. Being different has become one of our biggest strengths.
The Al Hai Motors Campaign
Is there a project or campaign you have worked on that you are especially proud of, and why?
One project that stands out is our work with Al Hai Motors, where we transformed the brand around classic automotive culture through films, branding and immersive storytelling.
But beyond any single client, I’m most proud that people are starting to recognise ERA as the agency for vintage storytelling. Seeing brands, creators and even other agencies associate us with this niche tells me we’re building something much bigger than campaigns. We’re building an identity.
What Comes Next
Where do you see ERA in the next few years, as a brand, a community, and a movement?
I want ERA to become the world’s leading creative agency dedicated entirely to vintage and retro culture. Not simply producing campaigns, but creating exhibitions, festivals, documentaries, original films, international collaborations and experiences that bring nostalgia to life.
We’re also launching ERA Stars, bringing together vintage creators from around the world under one creative home.
Long term, I want people to think of ERA the same way people think of Red Bull in extreme sports.
Beyond Instagram
Beyond Instagram, how do you think about ERA’s wider digital presence, your website and online experience? Is there anything you would love to build out further?
Beyond Instagram, we see ERA becoming much more than a creative agency. While we’re currently redesigning our website to create a richer digital experience, our long term vision goes far beyond that. We want to build the world’s leading destination for vintage culture, both online and in real life.
Our dream is to create large scale retro and nostalgic events that bring people back in time through music, cinema, classic cars, fashion, gaming, sports and immersive storytelling. We want to build the biggest vintage and retro experiences in the world, bringing together people who share the same passion for nostalgia.
