MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican-American clothing designer Willy Chavarria has apologized for an Adidas sandal he created after being accused by Mexican authorities of “cultural appropriation” for imitating an Indigenous shoe design.
The design launched by Adidas, known as the Oaxaca Slip On, is a black sandal with braided leather straps attached to a chunky sports shoe sole.
Mexican artisans and authorities say the intricate leather braids look strikingly similar to the traditional footwear known as huaraches made by the Zapotec Indigenous people in Oaxaca, produced mostly in the town of Villa Hidalgo Yalalag.
They have accused the brand and Chavarria of “cultural appropriation” and of copying the design without the permission of the Indigenous community. Authorities were quick to note that cultural Mexican designs have long been copied by major brands before, and said they planned to tighten laws to protect Mexican designs.
Chavarria responded to mounting criticisms in comments sent to The Associated Press on Tuesday. In a statement addressed to the “people of Oaxaca,” he said that the design was intended to “to honor the powerful cultural and artistic spirit of Oaxaca and its creative communities — a place whose beauty and resistance have inspired me.”
“I am deeply sorry that the shoe was appropriated in this design and not developed in direct and meaningful partnership with the Oaxacan community,” Chavarria wrote. “This falls short of the respect and collaborative approach that Oaxaca, the Zapotec community of Villa Hidalgo Yalalag, and its people deserve.”
Chavarria is a Mexican-American designer, who has risen to fame for his designs exploring Chicano, or Mexican-American, culture, often mixing Mexican themes with American products. His designs include sweaters reading “Chicano” in red, scripted font, and styles with the Mexican flag and cowboy hats reminiscent of northern Mexican culture.
In recent months, Chavarria also was put in the spotlight for a show at Paris Fashion Week that was intended as criticism of the Trump administration's deportation policy.
Chavarria's comments came days after Adidas made a public apology for the design, and in a statement said it was reaffirming “our commitment to collaborate with Yalalag in a respectful dialogue that honors their cultural legacy.” Last week, in a letter to Oaxacan state officials, the company requested to sit down with local officials and to discuss how it can “repair the damage” to Indigenous populations.
“Adidas recognizes and values the cultural richness of Mexico’s Indigenous communities and the meaning of their artisanal heritage,” it wrote in a statement.
Sandals known as "huaraches" are displayed for sale at a market in Oaxaca, Mexico, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Alberto Cruz)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are pulling away from their record heights on Monday.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.6% in afternoon trading, though it remains within 0.9% of its all-time high set in October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 318 points, or 0.7%, as of 2:11 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% lower.
Berkshire Hathaway was a heavy weight on the market and fell 1.7% after announcing a shake-up of some of its top leadership. Todd Combs, who had been CEO of the company's GEICO insurance business, is leaving for a job at JPMorgan Chase, while Chief Financial Officer Marc Hamburg will retire next year.
Netflix dropped 4.2% after Paramount announced a bid in hopes of trumping Netflix's deal to buy Warner Bros., which was announced last week.
Paramount said it’s offering $30 for each Warner Bros. Discovery share, as well as a quicker and easier way for investors to get their payout. Paramount is offering to buy all of Warner Bros. Discovery in cash, unlike Netflix’s offer of cash and stock for just Warner Bros. following its pending split with Discovery.
The board of directors for Warner Bros. Discovery had agreed to Netflix's offer last week, but it's already facing potential scrutiny from federal regulators because of worries about too much industry power sitting at one company. President Donald Trump said Sunday that a Netflix-Warner Bros. combination “could be a problem.”
Warner Bros. Discovery rose 3.3% following the hostile buyout bid, and Paramount Skydance’s stock climbed 7.7%.
Elsewhere on Wall Street, Confluent soared 29.3% after IBM said it would buy the company, which helps customers connect and process data. IBM said the $11 billion deal will help customers deploy artificial-intelligence tools better and faster, and its shares added 0.6%.
Carvana jumped 13.3% in its first trading after learning it will join the S&P 500 index on Dec. 22. Many professional investors directly mimic the index or at least measure their performance against it, which will push many to buy any stocks within it.
CRH, a provider of building materials, rose 5.1%, and Comfort Systems USA, a provider of mechanical and electrical contracting services, was mostly unchanged after likewise learning they’ll join the S&P 500 in a couple weeks.
They will replace LKQ, Solstice Advanced Materials and Mohawk Industries, which have all shrunk enough in size that they’ll drop down to the S&P SmallCap 600 index of smaller stocks.
CoreWeave sank 5% after the AI cloud company said it’s raising $2 billion in debt that it could repay in stock and cash.
Moves elsewhere on Wall Street were relatively modest. The U.S. stock market has become much more calm recently following weeks of sharp and scary swings.
The highlight of this week will come Wednesday, when the Federal Reserve will announce its latest move on interest rates.
Stocks have already run to the edge of their records on widespread expectations that the Fed will cut its main interest rate for the third time this year. Lower interest rates can give the economy and prices for investments a boost, though their downside is that they can worsen inflation.
The big question is what kind of hints the Fed will offer about where interest rates will go after that. Many on Wall Street are bracing for talk aimed at tamping down expectations for more cuts in 2026.
Inflation has stubbornly remained above the Fed’s 2% target, and Fed officials are notably split in their opinions about whether high inflation or the slowing job market is the bigger threat to the economy.
In the bond market, Treasury yields climbed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.17% from 4.14% late Friday.
In stock markets abroad, indexes slid 1.2% in Hong Kong but jumped 1.3% in South Korea for two of the world’s bigger moves.
AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
Trader Edward Curran works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top right, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A currency trader watches monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
