This Valentino ad campaign is making homophobes jump

She is beautiful, the new Valentino advertising campaign. Among the posters unfolding to celebrate the brand's products, a portrait, and more specifically a self-portrait: the intimate and aesthetic portrait of Michael Bailey-Gates, militant photographer and androgynous visual artist. A refined and modern, sensual, disturbing and progressive nude, illustrating a slogan advocating the virtues of "freedom of expression".

A freedom of expression that does not only have qualities, however. Since posting this shot on his social media, Valentino has indeed faced an abundance of homophobic and transphobic comments, welcoming these photographs with sadly ordinary hatred.

Hateful reactions and "vomit" emoji line up, for example, under the brand's Instagram post. "Fashion shouldn't be about 'it'!", "It has nothing to do with freedom of expression", "Is it male or female? Or are we supposed to guess?" , can we read in particular. So much so that a user quips: "I've lost count of all the 'vomit' emojis under this post... Have you all eaten at the same bad restaurant?".

But Pierpaolo Piccioli, fashion designer and director of the legendary house, is not keen to take things with humor. On his Instagram account, the director notably denounced this frightening flow of "hateful and aggressive comments".

We get it.

"Hate is not freedom of expression"