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Adidas and designer say sorry for Oaxacan-inspired shoe
The Straits Times
|August 13, 2025
American fashion designer Willy Chavarria said he wanted to honor Mexican-American culture when he created the Adidas Oaxaca Slip-On.
NEW YORK - American fashion designer Willy Chavarria said he wanted to honor Mexican-American culture when he created the Adidas Oaxaca Slip-On.
The shoe features a thick black sole from a 1990s Adidas hiking shoe and a woven black top that resembles that of a huarache, the traditional sandal made by Zapotec artisans in Oaxaca, Mexico.
"This to me is such a hybrid between my work and Adidas, and it's like the perfect combination," he told the website Sneakers News last week. "It's one of the most classic Chicano references with the white sock."
But when the shoe was released last week, political leaders in Mexico accused Chavarria and Adidas of "cultural appropriation".
This story is from the August 13, 2025 edition of The Straits Times.
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