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Getty Images<\/p>\nJennifer Meierhans<\/p>\n
Business reporter<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
US fashion designer Willy Chavarria at The Mark Hotel before the 2025 Met Gala<\/p>\n
US fashion designer Willy Chavarria has apologised after a shoe he created in collaboration with Adidas Originals was criticised for “cultural appropriation”.<\/p>\n
The Oaxaca Slip-On was inspired by traditional leather sandals known as huaraches made by Indigenous artisans in Mexico.<\/p>\n
The Mexican president was among those who spoke out against the footwear, which was reportedly made in China without consultation or credit to the communities who originated the design.<\/p>\n
Chavarria said in a statement sent to the BBC: “I am deeply sorry that the shoe was appropriated in this design and not developed in direct and meaningful partnership with the Oaxacan community.” The BBC has contacted Adidas for comment.<\/p>\n
Cultural appropriation is defined as “the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, of one people or society by members of a typically more dominant people or society”.<\/p>\n
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum told a press conference: “Big companies often take products, ideas and designs from Indigenous communities.”<\/p>\n
She added: “We are looking at the legal part to be able to support them.”<\/p>\n
Adidas had contacted Oaxacan officials to discuss “restitution to the people who were plagiarised”, Mexico’s deputy culture minister Marina Nunez added.<\/p>\n
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Jes\u00fas M\u00e9ndez\/EPA\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n
Traditional huaraches displayed at a market in Oaxaca, Mexico<\/p>\n
Promotional images of the black moulded open-toe footwear have been taken down from the brand’s social media accounts as well as Chavarria’s. <\/p>\n
In his statement, Chavarria said he wanted “to speak from the heart about the Oaxaca slip-on I created with Adidas”.<\/p>\n
“The intention was always to honor the powerful cultural and artistic spirit of Oaxaca and its creative communities – a place whose beauty and resistance have inspired me. The name Oaxaca is not just a word – its living culture, its people, and its history.”<\/p>\n
He went on to say he was “deeply sorry” he did not work with the Oaxacan community on the design.<\/p>\n
“This falls short of the respect and collaborative approach that Oaxaca, the Zapotec community of Villa Hidalgo Yalalag, and its people deserve,” he added.<\/p>\n
“I know love is not just given – it is earned through action.”<\/p>\n
Chavarria was Calvin Klein’s senior vice president of design until 2024 and is the founder and chief creative officer of his eponymous label. <\/p>\n
Adidas has not responded to the BBC’s request for a comment.<\/p>\n