Trump From Head to Toe

As the press corps descended on the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week, most photojournalists focused on the politicians and guest speakers who rallied the crowd night after night for former President Donald J. Trump. During his four days at the convention, Landon Nordeman, a photographer on assignment for the Styles desk of The New York Times, trained his lens mainly on the human spectacle away from the stage.

His assignment, as he put it, was to “work the edges and find the characters.”

“I wasn’t trying to capture J.D. Vance at the podium,” Mr. Nordeman said. “I was trying to capture the experience of being there. When all the photographers were going one way, I was trying to go the opposite way, to get the other side of things.”

For Mr. Nordeman, who is known for photographing the culture and fashion scenes in New York, and who for years has photographed the annual Met Gala for Styles, capturing the “other side” also meant chronicling the fashion statements of Trumplandia.

Nimbly equipped with a Leica and a hand-held flash, he captured attendees wearing everything from glittering American flag high heels to a ball gown emblazoned with an image of Trump’s blood-streaked face after the recent attempted assassination.

“The convention is a distinct fashion spectacle to its own,” Mr. Nordeman said. “Everyone at this thing is there to celebrate Trump, and they love dressing up for it.”

As he worked the convention floor, he said he encountered standoffishness from some people who were skeptical of the news media, but his interest in their fashion choices helped persuade most attendees to pose for his camera.

“I definitely had people tell me, ‘Hey, don’t write something bad about me. Make sure you tell the