Diem's latest carping clobber has a street edge

If you’re under 30 years of age and hooked on big carp fishing, then it’s highly probable that the name Diem will already be known to you. In fact, you might even be wearing one of the London-based company’s garments right now.

Having officially launched onto the angling market in March 2009 after five years of name changes and general business frustrations, Diem Angling Apparel has in just 18 months of trading established itself as the No1 market leading carp clothing company, dressing an army of olive and camo-coloured carp anglers who are loyal to the brand.

In a nutshell, the forward-thinking company combines distinctive and funky designs with well-coordinated colours in a bid to give its clothing a genuine ‘must have’ appeal. The result is an ever-expanding range that is both street smart and extremely functional, and the next few months will see the addition of some ingenious new designs that will have a wider appeal to both the match and pleasure angling audience.

So just where did the Diem Angling Apparel idea come from? That was the question Angling Times asked the company’s director Mark Munson.

Although he’s been an avid angler since the age of 10, for the past 20 years Mark has also been a sponsored skateboarder and snowboarder, travelling the world touring and developing clothing products for various brands. It was this experience which ultimately gave Mark the insight to apply his expertise to the other love in his life, namely angling.

He said: “The Diem brand came out of frustration. I was amazed that with the amount of creative minds involved in the angling industry there was still nobody who had got angling apparel quite right. The clothing ranges that were out there seemed like a bit of an afterthought for the major tackle brands, so we felt that we just had to bring something new to the table.” “We wanted clothing that you could wear both on and off the bank, with technical outerwear that was good enough to be worn up a mountain, plus a soft wear range that was stylish enough to be worn every day. So, we set about creating just that. Our goal has always been to create a constantly evolving apparel brand that works for anglers, by producing high quality products at reasonable prices ¬ and so far the reaction to Diem has been nothing short of phenomenal.” Having already built up a loyal following with its initial range of clothing, the company has bold plans for the back end of this year that will see its portfolio expanded to other areas.

“Basically, the initial Diem range consisted of T-shirts, hoodies and four jackets. Since then we have added six styles of trousers, shorts and a small range of luggage. We’re planning a raft of great new products for later this year, including three new jackets, the ASBO hoody, a women’s range, camera bags, a holdall, plus an ‘ATV’ rucksack/barrow bag which has four zip off pouches for leads, rig bits, buzz bars and a scales pouch. We have footwear covered too, with the Diem TT shoe (Technical Trainer), which is a water-resistant skater style shoe, and also the ATB Boot which is a brushed waterproof leather boot with a Thinsulate lining - warm, waterproof and stylish!” Having had the good fortune to get a sneak preview of some of the awesome clothing items that Diem are about to launch, I can foresee that it is only a matter of time before the match and pleasure anglers get into the brand.

The future really does look bright for Diem.