Celebrities including Pedro Pascal are wearing the design as they embrace its message in support of trans women

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.