Adidas stole the design of the sandal from the traditional Mexican craftsmen, says Shinbom

Controversy has fueled accusations of cultural dependence by the brand of shoes, as the authorities say this is not the first time that traditional Mexican handicrafts have been copied. Quoting these concerns, the local authorities requested Adidas To withdraw the shoe model.

Mexican President Claudia Shinbom She said on Friday that Adidas had already had talks with the authorities in the state of Oxaka in southern Oksaka to provide “compensation for the people who fled”, and that her government was preparing for legal reforms to prevent copying Mexican handicrafts.

The design in the midst of the controversy is “Oaxaca Slip-on”, a sandal created by American designer Willie Chavary for Adidas’s origins. Sands are characterized by high -sized leather tapes in an unambiguously similar style. Instead of flat skin, Adidas shoes take more chunky shoes.

According to the Mexican authorities, Adidas design contains elements that form a part of cultural heritage Original Zapotec Communities in OakakaEspecially in the town of Villa Hidalgo de Yala. Handicrafts are a decisive economic lifeline in Mexico, providing jobs for about half a million people across the country. The industry represents about 10 % of the GDP of the states such as Oxaka, Gallisco, Mishwakan and Girro.

For Viridiana Jarquín García, the creator and seller of Huaraches in the capital of Oaxaca, Adidas shoes were “cheap version” of the type of work that Mexican artists took time and interested in formulation.

“We lose art. We lose our traditions,” she said in front of her small leather booth.

The authorities in Oaxaca Slip-One called on Oaxaca Slip-on and requested a general apology from Adidas, where officials described the design as a “cultural allocation” that might violate Mexican law.

In a public message to the leadership of Adidas, the governor of the state of Oaxaka Salomon, Gara Cruz, criticized the company’s design, saying that “creative inspiration” is not a correct justification for using cultural expressions that “provide identity to societies.”

“The culture is not sold, it’s respectable,” added.

Adidas responded in a message on Friday afternoon, saying that the company “is deeply able to cultural wealth of the indigenous people of Mexico and recognizes the importance of” criticism. I asked to sit with local officials and discuss how the damage could be “repaired” for the indigenous people.

This controversy follows years of efforts made by the Mexico government and craftsmen to respond to the major international clothing brands that they say are copies of traditional designs.

In 2021, the federal government asked manufacturers including ZARA, Anthropologie and Patowl to provide a general interpretation of the reason for copying the designs of clothing from the original OAXACA communities for sale in their stores.

Now, the Mexican authorities say they are trying to define more stringent regulations in an attempt to protect artists. But Marina Nunez, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Cultural Development in Mexico, indicated that they also want to create instructions for not being deprived of artists of “the opportunity to trade or cooperate with many of these companies that have very broad commercial access.”

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