I've been hearing a lot about Sierra Leone lately...

Yeah, coincidentally Kanye West just brought the country back into people's minds with his track "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" in which he raps about the conflict within the diamond trade.
Apparently Q-Tip had made him aware of the problem. But other MC's like Talib Kweli and Mos Def have also rhymed about Sierra Leone.

Why did you base your whole collection on Sierra Leone?
As an up and coming basketball lifestyle label, we are always looking for a fresh perspective and different approach. "You Can't Teach Heart" is an k1x slogan that perfectly describes the situation of ballplayers in Sierra Leone and its capital, Freetown.

These guys play basketball in one of the poorest countries in the world, which means: blistering heat, electrical power outages, raggedy courts, no payment or bonuses.

"Love 4 da Game" is another motto of ours that is personified by the ballers of Sierra Leone every day.
Additionally, the country's history, national colors etc. are phenomenal inspirational ingredients for our designers.
Sierra Leone's national team modelled the collection for the images we shot over the course of five weeks in Freetown. 

What is your involvement with the Sierra Leone's national team?
We are very proud to have them aboard as k1x warriors. Team Sierra Leone plays all their games in k1x kits, suits etc. The jerseys turned out real cool, in the green, blue, white colors of the flag. I want to stress, that our involvement really has nothing to do with charity. We are the outfitters of the Team Sierra Leone - and the players of the team will appear in several ads in magazines like SLAM over the course of the next couple of months.
Actually, there is one small charitable project: the "flag belt" (green, blue, white). 10 EUR of each belt sold will go to a childrens project in Freetown (more info on website). You can find out more about all individual team members on www.k1x.com

What kind of products are included in the collection?
Them line is extremely wide and includes a bunch of functional on-court stuff (tees, shorts, sleeveless, shoes, backpacks, sweat suits etc.) but we also put a heavy focus on off-court styles like jeans, parka (military jackets), hoodies, caps, belts, knit-Sweaters, hiking boots, longsleeves, suits, beanies etc.

Any news regarding shoes?

Yes, of course we made a Chiefglider along with the collection: the k1x Chiefglider Sierra Leone Mid is asymetrically coloured (navy/white), boasts a golden "Sierra Leone" stiching on the side and a diamond-like k1x-logo metal plaque to emphasize the lacing.

And we proudly present: our newest pure breed performe shoe: the k1x Strictly Business. We bulit it with a very low and wide stance for ideal basketball-specific movement and maximum ankle support. We started out with two variations of the strictly business: one featuring a high end camo stiching, the other with an embossed super-size logo on the side. Both of them are dope and have gotten rave reviews from the players who took them for an all-out joy-ride.

Then we have new off-court shoes: the h1ke sport (a very sporty version of our original hiking boot) for example, which will be available in the UK at J.D Sports by late october.  The Lazy Layups and Club Selecaos will also appear in new variations shortly. We like to keep busy...