Next month, 270 items will go on sale as part of the largest single Margiela auction ever held. Hosted by Kerry Taylor, the auction will take place in Paris just in time for couture week, which kicks off the day of the sale (January 27), and is guaranteed to draw in a few of fashion’s biggest spenders.

The Belgian fashion house was founded by mysterious designer Martin Margiela in 1988, who remained creative director of the brand until 2009. Between 2009 and 2014, Maison Margiela continued producing collections under a team of in-house designers, until eventually John Galliano was named creative director after leaving Dior in 2011. The auction marks the second time in less than a week that the Margiela name is making headlines. Last Wednesday, it was announced that Galliano would be stepping down from his role after ten years.

The Paris sale is set to feature items from the year the house was founded, up until 1994, meaning that the pieces up for grabs will be exclusively Martin Margiela. From incredible one-off pieces such as a painted canvas blazer from SS90, to a rare jacket from 1988, designed before Margiela had shown his first catwalk. Among the clothes, there are 70 original hand-drawn sketches, all from AW89/90. 

The entire collection is owned by sisters Angela and Elena Picozzi, who have been adding to it for decades, inspired by their mother Graziella Picozzi, a key figure in the Italian fashion industry who supported Margiela at the dawn of his career. This auction is not only the largest Martin Margiela collection to ever go on sale, it’s also incredibly unique given the early nature of these designs. Feel like owning a piece of fashion history? Mark your calendars.