Say it with your chest: Designers are protesting via slogan tees

Yesterday (February 23), New York-born designer Conner Ives returned to the London Fashion Week schedule with his AW25 collection, inspired by Bob Fosse’s 1979 film All That Jazz and staged within the Savoy’s louche Beaufort bar.

The soundtrack offered an injection of joy with disco classics from Donna Summer and Marvin Gaye, and at one point, an AI-generated disco-version of Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass”. Models took their time, twirling slowly through each corner of the room, in a way that was reminiscent of the early fashion salons.

The whole thing struck the perfect balance between sexy and camp, but the cherry on the cake was the outfit worn by the designer himself as he took his bow – a white t-shirt that read ‘Protect The Dolls’, a term that refers to trans women, likely originating from late 80s ballroom culture.

“As much as we are in peril, I didn’t want to create a show that created the feeling of peril,” Ives told Dazed backstage. “I’ve been so nurtured and supported by such beautiful and incredible women. I wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for the dolls.”

The statement comes just three days after Hunter Schafer made a public announcement that her passport gender had been forcibly changed following President Trump’s recent executive order, declaring that the United States government will only recognise two genders. “I put female, and when it was picked up today, and I opened it up, they had changed the marker to male,” the actress explained.

Schafer has worn Ives’ designs in the past, while activist and model Alex Consani walked in the previous show and starred as the sole model for his SS24 lookbook. Instead of making a statement with his collection, Ives chose to do so with his own attire, keeping the show light, but not missing the opportunity to speak up on a matter that was important to him. With growing concerns surrounding the real-life impact of the Trump administration’s policies, the US trans community need protection and support more than ever.

But Ives wasn’t the only one sporting a protest tee at fashion week. Opening the final day of the London shows, Ashish had a lot to say too. Making his return to the catwalk after an 18-month break, the designer has a habit of including slogan tees in his work, usually carrying a political opinion. This season’s message? “The end is near” according to a cardboard sign held by one model, while a hoodie read “slut for socialism” and a colourful waistcoat read “fashion not fascism”.

Unlike Ives, Ashish made his message the focus of the collection. But similarly, he also used the opportunity to wear a protest t-shirt himself. Taking his bow on the catwalk, Ashish appeared wearing a white t-shirt, featuring a 1982 artwork by British artists Gilbert & George. Printed with the words ‘coloured friends’, the artwork includes four fists – the socialist symbol – in blue, yellow, green and red colourways. The fists take the shape of a swastika as an ironic anti-fascist symbol. The message of the show, as well as the designer’s personal styling choice, feels particularly poignant today, as the world learns the results of the German general election in which far-right party the AfD received 20 per cent of the vote. 

Two weeks ago, at New York Fashion Week, 2024 LVMH Prize semi-finalist Patricio Campillo presented his second show on schedule, inspired by his Mexican roots as well as Latin American artists. At the end of the show, Campillo appeared wearing a t-shirt that read ‘El Golfo de Mexico’ just a fortnight after Trump declared he would rename the Gulf of Mexico to the ‘Gulf of America’.

Another designer of Mexican heritage, Willy Chavarria was invited to show his menswear collection in Paris this season, rather than his usual New York hub. It was a blockbuster show, for which he enlisted famous friends J Balvin and Paloma Elsesser, as well as trans activists Indya Moore, Honey Dijon and Kai Isaiah Jamal. The catwalk took place one week after Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde made her viral speech asking that Trump show mercy towards the LGBTQ+ community and migrants, which played through the speakers at Chavarria’s Paris debut – hosted inside the city’s American Church. 

Like Campillo, Ashish and Ives, Chavarria also opted to send a message with his styling, wearing a black t-shirt that read ‘How we love is who we are’ designed in partnership with Tinder and Human Rights Campaign. “This collaboration stands as a necessary statement championing love, equality, and the fundamental rights of every global citizen,” wrote Chavarria on social media. “Together, we resist the rise of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation worldwide and amplify the fight for liberation and unity. This is more than fashion – it’s a movement.”

Also during the menswear shows, Kévin Nompeix of Egonlab appeared wearing a t-shirt branded with the pun ‘Witch please’. Out of context, this could be seen as no more than a play on words, but, within the context of the show, carries a much deeper political meaning. “We are the new witches of Salem” Nompeix and creative partner Florentin Glémarec explained backstage, ‘We’ acting as an umbrella term for anyone who is being othered or targeted not only by Trump’s administration, but by politics everywhere.

Designers wearing slogan t-shirts is no new concept, yet so far 2025 has seen them in London, Paris and New York. It’s also not unusual for fashion to reflect the current social climate, but this season, when everything feels particularly dark, designers are keeping collections bright and hopeful whilst using their own personal wardrobes as a form of protest.

As Ives said, perhaps a fashion show doesn’t always need to hold a mirror to the world’s perils, but rather, offer a joyful antidote instead. Especially if that designer continues to spread a message independently from their body of work. We’re only half way through the womenswear season, so let these designers be an example to those in Milan and Paris. It doesn’t take much to throw on a t-shirt, and, in the unique case of the fashion designer’s wave, words might just speak louder than actions.