Conner Ives, a London-based designer, printed a T-shirt reading "PROTECT THE DOLLS" to advocate for trans rights during a global backlash against LGBTQ+ communities. Overcoming his initial reservations about slogan T-shirts, Ives aims to uplift his trans friends from ballroom culture. The shirt gained visibility, worn by celebrities like Pedro Pascal, and resonates as a meaningful tool for dissent. Historically, T-shirts have been vehicles for political expression, exemplified by designers like Katharine Hamnett and Vivienne Westwood, who have effectively merged fashion with activism.
The urgency to support his trans friends—the "dolls," rooted in 1980s Afro-American ballroom culture—overrode his reluctance for a designer slogan T-shirt.
The visibility of "Protect the Dolls" has travelled far beyond Ives' end-of-show bow, worn by stars like Pedro Pascal and Tilda Swinton.
From its industrial origins, the T-shirt is democratic by nature of its basic, genderless design and is a natural surface to pin belief directly to the body.
Vivienne Westwood used the T-shirt not to persuade but to provoke, cleverly fitting her politics into fashion, forever blending activism with style.
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