Oh dear. In a real fashion catastrophe, three of the most popular style magazines on the planet have somehow contrived to feature the same dress on their latest covers.

Prada will no doubt be delighted, with their dress appearing on the front page of Vogue, Elle and W all at the same time, but industry analysts are wondering how such a faux pas could have happened in a business which employs teams of people to make sure that this precise incident is avoided. In what is the industry equivalent of three supermodels turning up to a party in the same outfit, the coincidence is somewhat of an embarrassment to all concerned. Fashion houses such as Prada go to great lengths to ensure that rival photo shoots are not given the same outfit, something which has left the respective magazine editors scrambling to deflect criticism.

While Elle magazine said the situation was not surprising given that the dress was so fabulous, Vogue attempted to point out that the dresses were not the same, saying that they had not even noticed the other covers.

Danish model Freja Beha Erichsen appears on the cover of British Vogue in tangerine version of Prada’s diffusion line Miu Miu, while Lily Allen is featured in a lilac lace version for UK Elle, and Eva Mendes adorns the cover of US glossy W in a yellow number. As if that wasn’t enough, model Mona Johannesson appears in the lilac dress on the cover of Swedish Elle.