‘Protect the Dolls’ T-Shirt Becomes a Fashion Symbol for Trans Rights

When the designer Conner Ives took his bow after his London fashion week show this February, he wore a T-shirt that proclaimed “Protect the Dolls.” Two months later, the design — and its message supporting trans women, who are affectionately called “dolls” in the LGBTQ+ community — has become ever more popular.

The singer Troye Sivan wore it to perform at Coachella, and the actor Pedro Pascal wore it for the London premiere of the film Thunderbolts, just days after the supreme court ruled that when the Equality Act referred to women, it only meant biological sex and did not include transgender women.

Ives initially saw the T-shirt as a one-off statement, but demand changed that. On sale on his website for £75 ($100), about 5,000 orders have been placed in the last month. With proceeds going to the American organisation Trans Lifeline, as of Thursday evening Ives estimated it had raised about £380,000, with “that figure going up by the hour.”

The designer, an American based in London, says the T-shirt was a response to anti-trans policies put in place by Donald Trump, and in support of trans friends including the model Hunter Pifer. Even he has been surprised by how popular it is. “I never had that intention when I was doing it,” he says. “I was just like ‘this is what I want to say. This is what feels right’ and it turned into something else.”

At a protest in London last weekend against the supreme court decision, the slogan was used on signs, showing it now has life beyond T-shirts. “I was discussing this with Myles [Markham], who works at Trans Lifeline,” says Ives. “He was saying they didn’t have their call to arms. He said, ‘We finally have a message.’”

Cliff Joannou, the editor-in-chief of Attitude magazine, says Sivan wearing the T-shirt was a crucial moment. “Any time men from the gay community stand up for the trans community, it’s a really important moment to celebrate,” he says. Nicky Josephine, who writes about trans issues for Vogue, agrees. “What is most important is the fact that it’s cis men that you’ve seen wearing it most,” she says. “They both have connections to trans women so it’s real allyship, there’s nothing performative to it.”

T-shirts have, of course, long provided a device to endorse causes or make statements. Joannou name-checks George Michael and his “Choose Life” T-shirt in the 1980s, and Philip Normal’s It’s a Sin-inspired “La.” T-shirt, which raised £20,000 in 24 hours for the Terrence Higgins Trust.

Charlie Craggs, a trans activist and influencer, also makes T-shirts with statements in support of trans rights. She wore one to the Glamour awards in 2023, reading “Transphobia Will Never Be Glamour,” referencing a moment in “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” “Everyone else is wearing a pretty dress, and if you’re wearing a white T-shirt with a few words, everyone in the room is reading it,” she says. “It’s a clever way of getting the message across really easily.”

The simplicity of the statement on Ives’s T-shirt is crucial — Craggs says its impact is instant. “It’s important to be political right now,” she adds. “Even if it’s not in front of cameras on a red carpet, it’s just sitting in front of someone on the tube, people are going to be looking at what’s written on your chest.”

Ives says: “I love that we can sell the T-shirts, but it’s more than just that. The IP is what is popular, that’s the most beautiful thing in the world.”

By Lauren Cochrane

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