Celebrities Can’t Get Enough of Conner Ives’s “Protect The Dolls” T-Shirt

At the end of Conner Ives’s fall 2025 show in February, the American-born, London-based designer took his final bow in a white t-shirt with black lettering that read “Protect The Dolls.” Though it wasn’t officially part of the collection, the designer heard the demand and began selling it. If you’re not up on current queer slang, “dolls” is as an affectionate term for transgender women, and proceeds from the shirt benefit Trans Lifeline, a nonprofit peer support and crisis hotline for the trans community. The tee is currently sold out online, but a swell of celebrities managed to get their hands on the design.

Pedro Pascal was one of the early wearers of the slogan when he slipped it on for his 50th birthday celebration in early April. The actor, whose sister, Lux Pascal, is trans, doubled down on the statement on the red carpet earlier this week, wearing the same tee to the Thunderbolts* premiere in London.

Ives made the last-minute decision to wear the shirt to his show amid legislation stateside that targeted the trans community. (In the weeks prior, the Trump administration made several moves to roll back trans rights, including an executive order that defines sex as only male or female.)

“The girls who walk my show are trans and I have so many friends that are trans women in the United States,” he told the New York Times, which called the design a “sensation.” He continued, “It reached a point where I couldn’t really remove myself anymore.”

Joining Pascal was Troye Sivan who slipped on the shirt during Charli XCX’s Coachella weekend one performance. Both opted to let the tee stand on its own, pairing it with simple trousers and accessories. TikToker-turned-pop star Addison Rae also wore the design during the festival. And Tilda Swinton is a fan, too, perhaps put on by her friend Haider Ackermann who wore the slogan shirt early on.

Ives confirmed that celebrities are actually purchasing these shirts themselves (“no press loans here,” he said on Instagram), an important distinction considering that stars usually have most of the clothes they wear on loan from the brand. But it’s not just celebrities who are clamoring for the statement shirt. Ives raised just north of $250,000 as of late April to benefit Trans Lifeline from what he called a “groundswell of support” following his runway show.

Want to “Protect The Dolls”? The shirt is currently available for pre-order on Ives’s website (just don’t buy the dupes on TikTok that don’t benefit the charity) or donate to Trans Lifeline directly, here.