Adidas and U.S. designer Willy Chavarria are facing backlash in Mexico over their upcoming “Oaxaca Slip-On,” a black leather shoe inspired by the traditional huarache sandal. Oaxaca state authorities say the design copies Indigenous work from the Zapotec community of Villa Hidalgo Yalalag without permission or credit.
Chavarria, who has Mexican heritage, first revealed the shoe during an Adidas panel in Puerto Rico earlier this week, describing the project as an ode to Chicano culture. “It makes me very proud to be working with a company that really respects and uplifts culture in the most real way,” he told Sneaker News.
But Oaxaca Governor Salomón Jara condemned the design in a video statement posted on X, accusing Adidas of taking “traditional huaraches without asking permission or giving credit to their true creators.” He noted that huaraches are tied to “the culture, history, and identity of the Indigenous Zapotec people.”
We’ve posted a link to the translated video here.
The state’s Ministry of Cultures and Arts has called for Adidas to halt sales of the shoe, publicly acknowledge its origins, and begin talks with the Yalalag community. “The culture of Indigenous peoples and communities is not a resource that can be exploited without respect or reciprocity,” the ministry said. Jara also warned that legal action could be taken against both Adidas and Chavarria.
Mexico has clashed with major fashion brands in recent years, including Zara and Shein, over designs resembling traditional Indigenous work. In 2022, the country passed a federal law protecting the intellectual and cultural property of Indigenous and Afro-Mexican communities, with violations punishable by fines and prison time.
Adidas and Chavarria have not publicly responded to the controversy. The brand faced a similar situation in 2022 when Morocco’s culture ministry accused it of using traditional Moroccan patterns in Algeria’s national football team jerseys, a claim Adidas later acknowledged.
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