In 1956, Bruce Papas accepted a position at the Auckland department store Milne & Choyce. They were looking for a full-time designer to create original designs for their shops. The seasonal range of one-off model garments would be labelled 'Bruce Papos designer for Milne and Choyce', and Bruce also designed for their eponymous in-house label, as the head of their fashion team. This ball gown was modelled for a Milne & Choyce fashion parade by Else van den Muysenbergh. Not long after she arrived in New Zealand from The Netherlands, she agreed to model for a fashion parade held by the St Helier’s Bay Plunket Society. A Milne & Choyce staff member was in the audience and before long she was modelling for some of the country's top designers.