Angel Schlesser

Angel Schlesser is a Spanish fashion house founded in Madrid by designer Ángel Fernández Ovejero, who works under the name Ángel Schlesser. The brand began as a fashion label and later extended into fragrance, the category through which it reaches a wider international audience. Its perfumes are sold across Europe and in the Nordic market, and the line remains in active production under license.

The brand-site dates the founding to 1983 [2], the year the designer started his career working with Juan Rufete; the Madrid Fashion Week organiser instead records 1984 [12], a year that likely reflects the first runway collection rather than the operational start. The house describes itself through a "chic minimalism" that has shaped both its clothing and its scents.

Ángel Fernández Ovejero was born on 7 August 1957 in Santander, in northern Spain [7]. He studied law before moving into fashion, drawn in by friends already working in the industry. He launched his own label in 1983 in partnership with Juan Rufete [2][7]. The first collections were menswear, but the results fell short of what the designer wanted, and he turned to womenswear instead. According to the company, that shift brought "instant success," and the women's collections came to be defined by a restrained, minimal aesthetic.

From 1990 the label began presenting collections at Madrid's Pasarela Cibeles, the runway event now known as Madrid Fashion Week [7]. The designer also worked beyond clothing, contributing costumes for several Spanish films, including Alejandro Amenábar's Mar adentro.

The move into fragrance came in 1999 with the launch of the first perfume and bath line, Ángel Schlesser Femme [7]. The house later widened its range further, entering jewellery design in 2003 through a collaboration with the brand Le Cadó. In 2020 Juan Carlos Mesa joined as creative director of the fashion line [7]. Production of the clothing remains in Spain, where the designer has maintained a network of stores alongside distribution through El Corte Inglés.

The fashion house and the fragrance business operate separately. The perfumes are produced under license rather than in-house, and that license has changed hands. For years the fragrances were managed by Angelini Beauty, later renamed AB Parfums. On 31 January 2025, Give Back Beauty acquired AB Parfums, and the Angel Schlesser fragrance license transferred into the Give Back Beauty group as part of that deal [9][10]. The portfolio moved alongside other fashion-fragrance licenses including Trussardi, Laura Biagiotti and Armand Basi [10]. According to Give Back Beauty, AB Parfums continues to operate within the group as a business unit for European lifestyle and prestige brands in fragrance and beauty [10].

The brand frames its fragrances around quiet elegance rather than statement. The company describes its scents as "memorable, elegant and timeless," and positions the Femme line for a woman who "doesn't need to attract attention" and is content "to be herself: authentic and audacious." This minimalist, understated register mirrors the approach the designer took in his clothing, and the house presents its selection of ingredients and its work with named perfumers as central to that identity.

The Femme collection is the brand's anchor, built on fresh floral compositions such as the original Femme Eau de Toilette, with neroli, jasmine and tonka bean, and variants including Femme Naturelle Rose and Femme Magique. Alongside it sits Les Eaux D'un Instant, a line of fragrances including Tea of the Night, built on a smoky tea accord with citrus and woods, and Matcha Infusion, which pairs a matcha tea accord with clementine and tonka bean.

Several of the more recent fragrances carry environmental claims. The company states that the Naturelle and Les Eaux D'un Instant fragrances use ingredients of natural origin and vegan formulas, and describes packaging made from recycled cardboard with glass bottles coloured using water-based methods. No third-party certifications are listed for these products. The Spanish singer and television presenter Edurne (Edurne García Almagro) has served as the face of the Femme and Les Eaux D'un Instant campaigns.

The designer behind the brand has received several Spanish industry honours. In 2009 he was named Designer of the Year through the "T from Telva" award, and Spanish magazine Marie Claire awarded him its Prix de la Mode. In 2022 he received Spain's National Fashion Design Award (Premio Nacional de Diseño de Moda) [8]. At Madrid Fashion Week he was also recognised with the L'Oréal Paris Award in 2020 [12].

The brand is active. The fashion house continues to operate in Spain, and the fragrance line remains in production under Give Back Beauty, with recent launches including Femme Naturelle Rose, Tea of the Night and Matcha Infusion. The most recent documented change to the business was the transfer of the fragrance license on 31 January 2025 [10].