Adidas accused of cultural appropriation by Mexico over new footwear design

Mexico’s government is seeking compensation from Adidas, accusing the sportswear giant of cultural appropriation for launching a new shoe design strikingly similar to traditional Indigenous footwear known as huaraches.

Adidas’s new Oaxaca Slip-On was created by United States fashion designer Willy Chavarria, who has Mexican heritage.

But the footwear has drawn strong pushback from officials in Mexico’s southern state of Oaxaca, who say no authorisation was given by the Indigenous community, in the village of Villa de Hidalgo Yalalag, behind the original design.

“It’s collective intellectual property. There must be compensation. The heritage law must be complied with,” Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said during her regular news conference on Friday.

“Big companies often take products, ideas and designs from Indigenous communities,” Sheinbaum said.

“We are looking at the legal part to be able to support them,” she said.

The government said that Adidas representatives had agreed to meet with Oaxaca authorities.

In a public letter to Adidas, Oaxaca state governor, Salomon Jara Cruz, criticised the company’s design – which has a sneaker sole topped with the weave of huarache sandals – saying that “creative inspiration” is not a valid justification for using cultural expressions that “provide identity to communities”.

“Culture isn’t sold, it’s respected,” he said.

Mexican news outlet Periodico Supremo said the country’s National Institute of Indigenous Peoples will launch a legal challenge over the Adidas design, and asked followers on social media: “Are you going to buy them?”

Translation: The government of Mexico defends Indigenous intellectual property, against the well-known brand ADIDAS. The INPI will legally challenge the improper use of the traditional design of huaraches originating from Villa Hidalgo Yalalag, Oaxaca. Are you going to buy them?

The controversy is the latest instance of Mexican officials denouncing major clothing brands or designers using unauthorised Indigenous art or designs from the region, with previous complaints raised about fast fashion juggernaut Shein, Spain’s Zara and high-end labels Carolina Herrera and Louis Vuitton.

Mexico’s Deputy Culture Minister Marina Nunez confirmed Adidas had contacted Oaxacan officials to discuss “restitution to the people who were plagiarised”.

Neither Adidas nor the designer Chavarria, who was born in the US to an Irish-American mother and a Mexican-American father, immediately responded to requests for comment from reporters.

Chavarria had previously told Sneaker News that he had intended to celebrate his cultural heritage through his work with Adidas.

“I’m very proud to work with a company that really respects and elevates culture in the truest way,” he said.

Handicrafts are a crucial economic lifeline in Mexico, providing jobs for about half a million people across the country. The industry accounts for approximately 10 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of states such as Oaxaca, Jalisco, Michoacan and Guerrero.

For Viridiana Jarquin Garcia, a huaraches creator and vendor in Oaxaca’s capital, the Adidas shoes were a “cheap copy” of the kind of work that Mexican artists take time and care to craft.

“The artistry is being lost. We’re losing our tradition,” she said in front of her small booth of leather shoes.