What makes the world's most desirable dress?

UNDER THE heavy crystal chandeliers of the sprawling grand maison on Paris's Avenue Foch, the fashion pack was wilting.

Perched on purple foam cubes, their eyes fixed on the mirrored catwalk, the most influential men and women in style were packed in like sardines to watch the autumn/winter 2010 collection from Prada's youthful diffusion line Miu Miu. It was early March and the Miu Miu show was the very last in Paris fashion week, itself the final in four exhausting fashion events that span London, New York, Milan and the French capital. In the front row, editors from the world's major fashion publications including British and American Vogue, British and American Elle, Women's Wear Daily and W, not to mention a smattering of celebrities such as actress Christina Ricci and eccentric style icon Anna Piaggi, could have been forgiven for suffering from a little fashion fatigue.

But suddenly, a dress glided down the catwalk that jolted everyone from their sartorial stupor. Elegant, feminine, bang on trend and available in lilac and tangerine orange, it was, in the words of one fashionista who viewed it that day in Paris, "one of those buzz dresses. Everyone was talking about it. It really stood out".

Five months later, just how much it stood out became apparent when it turned up on the cover of the August edition of international style bibles - British Vogue, British Elle and American W, as well as Swedish Elle. Quelle dommage! It is intensely embarrassing because the four titles, particularly British Vogue and Elle, which appear side by side on newsstands across the country, are keen rivals, and pride themselves on their individuality. Although the dresses featured on each cover are different colours, it is still the publishing equivalent of turning up at a party wearing a designer frock only to bump into your boyfriend's ex-girlfriend in the same dress. But how did such a major fashion calamity come to pass? Was it a tragic accident, in fashion and publishing terms, or simply such a magnificent creation that magazine editors put their fierce rivalry aside to splash the same design?

What's clear is that normal order was subverted. "It's such a fickle world," sighs Tessa Hartmann, PR consultant and founder of the Scottish Fashion Awards. "Before you even leave these shows, if there's a real buzz about a dress you'll see some influential A list magazine fashion director saying 'oh my God, I want that dress so badly, can somebody go and pick it up backstage for me?' Everyone's scrambling to get hold of it and then it's about the pecking order. Normally the designer's publicist steps in and says 'where do we want to place it? Who's going to be best for the dress?'" But not this time.

Prada's press office will have been aware that requests had flooded in from a number of fashion magazines. A decision would then have been made as to where the dress went based on a number of criteria. This includes the strength of celebrity endorsement (Lily Allen appeared on Elle's cover, Eva Mendes on W's), how much advertising is in the magazine and the placement of that advertising, and how much of the product is used in the fashion shoot. Countries have probably gone to war with less deliberation.

But this sort of decision usually results in a dress turning up on the cover of one magazine, not four. Even given the rumour that Vogue pulled their cover forward a month - with the shot initially intended for the September issue - many believe Prada have been caught with their hand in the till.

"Prada's press office is infamous for being run with military-like precision," says Mary McGowne, a fashion PR and founder of the Scottish Style awards. "It is highly likely that on some level they have been complicit in such a dazzling product placement coup. It's nigh inconceivable that the Prada press office were not aware (the dress was sent to more than one magazine]."

The atmosphere in the Vogue and Elle offices on the day the blunder was discovered must surely have been grim. "I would imagine Alexandra Shulman (editor of British Vogue] will be incandescent with rage," remarks McGowne. "The Elle cover is much stronger than the Vogue one - the colours and the tones are spot on. "

W magazine too - known for being particularly forward thinking and featuring celebrities such as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in unusual poses - will also be furious. "With W, it is a big dent to them because their credibility lies in their foresight," McGowne said. "They have the power to draw on dresses that you won't see on the catwalk for God knows how long in advance. That is their strength and power. So for them it's a bit of a dilution of power in a very public manner. "

Perhaps Prada felt within its rights to give its dress to more than one magazine, given that the design house could probably claim to have paid for the cover spot anyway. Pick up any fashion magazine and leaf through its advertising, then look at the products being featured in the fashion shoots and the chances are, the bigger the advert, the more heavily featured the label will be on the fashion pages.

"There are very big spending advertisers who will splatter their advertising all over a magazine in an attempt to get something featured on the cover," says John Davidson, fashion stylist and former editor of Scottish Woman magazine. "It does occasionally happen that someone who isn't a big advertiser - perhaps a hot, young, new designer, will make a cover, but in the main, the dynamics of the magazine world mean it's the big spenders who end up with the frock on the front."

But while it might seem like the PR coup of the century to get your new season dress on the cover of four magazines, ultimately the stunt may seriously backfire for Prada. "No celebrity is going to want to be photographed in it now," points out Hartmann. "Those who see themselves as being ahead of fashion would rather die than wear that dress."

It wouldn't be the first time. Roland Mouret's Galaxy dress, sported by Victoria Beckham and Elle MacPherson, was ripped off by so many high street stores it almost destroyed the brand, while Versace's slash dress, made famous by Jennifer Lopez at the 2000 Grammy Awards, also became over-exposed thanks to lesser celebrities such as Geri Halliwell appearing in it in public and rendering it, in fashion terms, worthless. "It'll be a case of 'oh, there it is again'," says Vogue.com fashion stylist Lindsay Campbell. "They might find it detrimental to the brand. The public will love it, but perversely, they won't get as much coverage as if they had kept it quiet and limited, with more control over their stock."

Whether it was simply an experiment by the Italian fashion house to see how far they could push the boundaries, or a curious case of a fashionable misunderstanding, everyone involved is falling over themselves to proclaim that they're 'not bovvered' by the whole affair.

Prada won't comment on the grounds that any quotes given by the company must come from Miuccia Prada, and she is, it claims, unlikely to be aware the stramash took place. Meanwhile, Lorraine Candy, editor of British Elle, says she's 'not devastated', while Shulman says she was unaware it was the same dress until someone rang and asked her opinion on it. In the bitchy fashion world, she must have been about the only one.