MEXICO CITY — Mexican authorities are accusing sportswear company Adidas of plagiarizing artisans in southern Mexico, alleging that a new sandal design is strikingly similar to the traditional Indigenous footwear known as huaraches.

Adidas and designer Willy Chavarria have apologised after their Oaxaca Slip-On sparked backlash for using Indigenous Mexican design without credit or collaboration.View on euronews

Fashion designer Chavarria apologized after his collaboration with Adidas Original was charged by authorities in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, the largest producer of Huaraches, with appropriating the traditional design of the region’s huarache sandals, although there are many “original designs.”