This Is the Only T-Shirt That Matters Right Now
Protect the dolls! What does it mean and why is it everywhere?
Troye Sivan was spreading the message on Coachella’s mainstage, TikToker-turned-musician Addison Rae shared a video wearing the same design, and newly appointed Tom Ford creative director Haider Ackermann has also been spotted in the slogan tee. Quite the varied, high-profile list of co-signs, and stylish at that.
So stylish, in fact, that Mr. Pedro Pascal has been the Protect the Dolls T-shirt's most consistent proponent.
First, the actor wore it for his 50th birthday, where he was snapped alongside DJ Honey Dijon, and then again for the screening of the new Marvel film Thunderbolts* on April 22.
Everyone is protecting the dolls. And for good reason.
Conner Ives' "Protect the Dolls" white slogan tee is both a symbol of support for the trans community and a money-raising phenomenon.
Retailing for £75 (that’s around $99), Ives' T-shirts have continuously sold out since releasing in late February. They regularly restock though are currently only available for pre-order.
As of last week, the London designer estimated that proceeds from his Protect the Dolls tees have raised around $250,500 dollars for Trans Lifeline, a non-profit organization supporting trans people with financial and emotional over-the-phone support.
The top was first presented by Conner Ives during the finale of his Fall/Winter 2025 show in February 2025, mere days before it was made available for purchase.
But the timing of the T-shirt's current boom in popularity is especially pertinent.
On April 16, the UK Supreme Court ruled that the term "woman" defined only a biological sex, regardless of one's legally recognized gender, a move described by LGBT Ireland as "a troubling step backwards for human rights."
Billionaire Harry Potter author and anti-trans activist J.K. Rowling partially helped pave the way for the decision — Pedro Pascal has deemed her a “heinous loser.”
However, a wave of similar heinous losers are pushing through discriminatory legislation in America.
As such, it's never been clearer that we must protect the dolls.
