Following criticism for “cultural appropriation” of a sneaker he designed in partnership with Adidas Originals, American fashion designer Willy Chavarria issued an apology. Traditional leather sandals called huaraches, which Indigenous craftsmen in Mexico craft, served as the model for the Oaxaca Slip-On.
Those who voiced their opposition to the footwear, which was allegedly manufactured in China without consulting or giving credit to the communities that created the design, included the president of Mexico.
According to a statement Chavarria issued to the BBC, “I am deeply sorry that the shoe was adopted in this design and not developed in direct and meaningful partnership with the Oaxacan society.
Cultural appropriation is referred to be “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”.
At a news conference, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stated: “Indigenous groups frequently provide products, ideas, and designs to large corporations. She continued: We are looking at the legal part to be able to support them. Additionally, Mexico’s deputy cultural minister, Marina Nunez, stated that Adidas has spoken with Oaxacan authorities about “restitution to the people who were plagiarised.
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