Mexican authorities accuse Adidas of cultural appropriation in their sandal design

MEXICO CITY (AP) — 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.

The controversy has fueled accusations of cultural appropriation by the footwear brand, with authorities saying this is not the first time traditional Mexican handicrafts have been copied. Citing these concerns, local authorities have asked Adidas to withdraw the shoe model.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Friday that Adidas was already in talks with authorities in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca to provide “compensation for the people who were plagiarized," and that her government was preparing legal reforms to prevent the copying of Mexican handicrafts.

The design at the center of the controversy is the “Oaxaca Slip-On," a sandal created by U.S. designer Willy Chavarría for Adidas Originals. The sandals feature thin leather straps braided in a style that is unmistakably similar to the traditional Mexican huaraches. Instead of flat leather soles, the Adidas shoes tout a more chunky, sports shoe sole.

According to Mexican authorities, Adidas' design contains elements that are part of the cultural heritage of the Zapotec Indigenous communities in Oaxaca, particularly in the town of Villa Hidalgo de Yalálag. Handicrafts are a crucial economic lifeline in Mexico, providing jobs for around half a million people across the country. The industry accounts for around 10% of the gross domestic product of states like Oaxaca, Jalisco, Michoacán and Guerrero.

For Viridiana Jarquín García, a huaraches creator and vendor in Oaxaca's capital, the Adidas shoes were a “cheap copy” of the kind of work that Mexican artists take time and care to craft.

“The artistry is being lost. We're losing our tradition," she said in front of her small booth of leather shoes.

Authorities in Oaxaca have called for the “Oaxaca Slip-On” to be withdrawn and demanded a public apology from Adidas, with officials describing the design as “cultural appropriation" that may violate Mexican law.

In a public letter to Adidas leadership, Oaxaca state Gov. Salomón Jara Cruz criticized the company’s design, saying that “creative inspiration” is not a valid justification for using cultural expressions that “provide identity to communities.”

“Culture isn't sold, it's respected,” he added.

Adidas responded in a letter Friday afternoon, saying that the company “deeply values the cultural wealth of Mexico’s Indigenous people and recognizes the relevance” of the criticisms. It requested to sit down with local officials and to discuss how it can “repair the damage” to Indigenous populations.

The controversy follows years of efforts by Mexico's government and artisans to push back on major global clothing brands who they say copy traditional designs.

In 2021, the federal government asked manufacturers including Zara, Anthropologie and Patowl to provide a public explanation for why they copied clothing designs from Oaxaca's Indigenous communities to sell in their stores.

Now, Mexican authorities say they're trying to work out stricter regulations in an effort to protect artists. But Marina Núñez, Mexico's undersecretary of cultural development, noted that they also want to establish guidelines to not deprive artists of “the opportunity to trade or collaborate with several of these companies that have very broad commercial reach."

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

People look at a shop selling sandals known as "huaraches" at a market in Oaxaca, Mexico, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Alberto Cruz)

Sandals known as "huaraches" are displayed for sale at a market in Oaxaca, Mexico, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Alberto Cruz)

A vendor sells sandals known as "huaraches" at a market in Oaxaca, Mexico, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Alberto Cruz)

Sandals known as "huaraches" are displayed for sale at a market in Oaxaca, Mexico, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Alberto Cruz)

People look at a shop selling sandals known as "huaraches" at a market in Oaxaca, Mexico, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Alberto Cruz)

Sandals known as "huaraches" are displayed for sale at a market in Oaxaca, Mexico, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Alberto Cruz)

A vendor sells sandals known as "huaraches" at a market in Oaxaca, Mexico, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Alberto Cruz)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Police in Ohio's capital city said Wednesday that they have gathered enough evidence to link a man charged in the double homicide of his ex-wife and her husband in their Columbus home last month to the killings.

Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said in an Associated Press interview that authorities now believe Michael David McKee, 39, a vascular surgeon who was living in Chicago, was the person seen walking down a dark alley near Monique and Spencer Tepe's home in video footage from the night of the murders. His vehicle has also been identified traveling near the house, and a firearm found in his Illinois residence also traced to evidence at the scene, she said.

An attorney representing McKee could not be identified through court listings.

His arrest Saturday capped off nearly two weeks of speculation surrounding the mysterious killings that attracted national attention. No obvious signs of forced entry were found at the Tepes’ home. Police also said no weapon was found there, and murder-suicide was not suspected. Further, nothing was stolen, and the couple’s two young children and their dog were left unharmed in the home.

“What we can tell you is that we have evidence linking the vehicle that he was driving to the crime scene. We also have evidence of him coming and going in that particular vehicle,” Bryant told the AP. “What I can also share with you is that there were multiple firearms taken from the property of McKee, and one of those firearms did match preliminarily from a NIBIN (ballistic) hit back to this actual homicide.”

Bryant said that the department wants the public to keep the tips coming. Investigators were able to follow up on every phone call, email and private tip shared from the community to the department and some of that information allowed them to gather enough evidence to make an arrest, she said.

That work culminated in the apprehension of McKee in Rockford, Illinois, where the hospital where he worked — OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center — has said it is cooperating with the investigation. He has been charged with premeditated aggravated murder in the shooting deaths. Monique Tepe, who divorced McKee in 2017, was 39. Her husband, a dentist whose absence from work that morning prompted the first call to police, was 37.

McKee waived his right to an extradition hearing on Monday during an appearance in the 17th Judicial Circuit Court in Winnebago County, Illinois, where he remains in jail. Bryant said officials are working out details of his return to Ohio, with no exact arrival date set. His next hearing in Winnebago County is scheduled for Jan. 23.

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said Wednesday that the city doesn't prioritize high-profile cases any more than others, noting that the city's closure rate on criminal cases exceeds the national average. The city also celebrated in 2025 its lowest level of homicides and violent crime since 2007, Ginther said.

“Every case matters. Ones that receive national attention, and those that don’t,” he told the AP. “Every family deserves closure and for folks to be held accountable, and the rest of the community deserves to be safe when dangerous people are taken off the street.”

Ginther said it is vital for central Ohioans to continue to grieve with the Tepes' family, which includes two young children, and loved ones, as they cope with “such an unimaginable loss.”

“I want our community to wrap our arms around this family and these children for years to come,” he said.

This undated booking photo provided by the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, shows Michael David McKee, who was charged in the killing of his ex-wife, Monique Tepe, and her husband Spencer Tepe at their Columbus, Ohio, home on Dec. 30, 2025. (Winnebago County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Spencer and Monique Tepe's home in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)

This image taken from video shows Michael David McKee walking into the courtroom on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Rockford, Ill. (WIFR News/Pool Photo via AP)