On Sunday, August 3, 2025, designer Willy Chavarría unveiled his latest collaboration with Adidas—the “Oaxaca Slip-On” (see images here). While the shoe is being celebrated as a “nod to Chicano culture” and a “revival of Mexican tradition,” the Secretary of Cultures and Arts of the State of Oaxaca claims that Chavarría and Adidas have neglected to credit the Yalalag Community, “whose traditional huaraches were used as the aesthetic basis for the footwear.” This accusation of cultural appropriation is now being widely reported, including on CNN.com (August 6, 2025).
You can read the full statement from the Secretary in Spanish, for which we offer a full English translation (below.) Additionally, here are several resources that help define cultural appropriation, explore why these cases continue to happen, and share advice on how designers should better navigate drawing “inspiration” from traditional and indigenous cultures and communities.
Learning Resources
➡️ DEED Lab director, Cynthia Lawson Jaramillo, in conversation with Italian activist Livia Giuggioli Firth, answering the question “How do designers avoid cultural appropriation”?
➡️ DEED Lab’s “La hora” with Peruvian designer, textile artist, and scholar, Lucía Cuba, included a conversation about designers working in communities, and the continued challenges of identity, positionality, power, and appropriation in Latin America.
➡️ Recording of the “Design Before Design” Weiss Lecture , with Cultural Documentalist Laura Quiroz, anthropologist Dr. Maria del Carmen Castillo Cisneros, and author Dr. Carmen Malvar. The conversation centered around an open debate about ethical configurations and practices when Western designers approach the socio-cultural reality of indigenous craft communities.
➡️ The Business of Handmade Study Group, hosted by the DEED Lab with 200 Million Artisans, included a session on “Co-Creation & Intellectual Property,” featuring Monica Boța-Moisin
Founder, of CIPRI (Cultural Intellectual Property Rights Initiative.)
Statement from the Secretary of Cultures and Arts of Oaxaca (translated from original, above)
The Secretary of Cultures and Arts of the Government of the State of Oaxaca (SECULTA) has always recognized the dignity of the peoples and communities settled in our territory and beyond, who have created cultural manifestations in diverse areas.
SECULTA expresses its firm rejection of the case of cultural appropriation committed by designer Willy Chavarría and the company Adidas, who presented the “Oaxaca Slip On” model without authorization or recognition to the community of Villa Hidalgo Yalalag, whose traditional huaraches were used as the aesthetic basis for the footwear.
The adoption of cultural elements from our original peoples for commercial purposes without free, prior and informed consent constitutes a violation of their collective rights and transgresses the Federal Law for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Indigenous and Afro-Mexican Peoples and Communities.
This act makes invisible the true creators of cultural heritage and reproduces historical dynamics of dispossession. Therefore, we demand:
- The immediate suspension of the commercialization of the “Oaxaca Slip On” model.
- A process of dialogue and reparation of grievances with the community of Yalalag.
- Public recognition of the cultural origin of the appropriated designs.
The culture of original peoples and communities is not an available resource to be exploited without respect or reciprocity.
This clear statement aims to correct a historical injustice through the empowerment of groups or communities that have been subject to marginalization, discrimination and exploitation.
From this Secretary we reaffirm our commitment to the defense of the living heritage of the peoples of Oaxaca.
Sincerely,
Secretary of Cultures and Arts of the State of Oaxaca