PARIS - Fashion powerhouse Dior brushed aside the whims of the Instagram generation with its deliberately low-key new haute couture collection Tuesday, arguing that the world's most expensive clothes don't need to shout about it.

Designer Maria Grazia Chiuri said she wanted the French label's latest prestige range to glorify classic craftsmanship rather than the flashy designs that rack up "likes" on social media.

"It's hidden luxury," the Italian explained as the collection of dreamy ballgowns and neat, 1940s-inspired tailoring went on show before the global fashion elite in Paris.

"The audience that buys couture is not an audience that spends its time on Instagram," she said.

"The audience for couture knows what couture means - it's a piece that's made specially for you, just for your body, that it needs time."

Chiuri went back to basics for autumn/winter 2018-19, kicking off with a muted palette of nudes, navies and dusty pinks which eventually warmed into tangerine, leaf green and colorful embroidery.

Some of the gowns required 800 hours of work - a hallmark of haute couture, reflected in price tags that can soar into the tens of thousands - and Chiuri said her discerning customers didn't need to be ostentatious.

"Sometimes people believe that couture is something that shows off, that if it's expensive, that has to be visible," Chiuri said. "No, that's not couture." - AFP