When Chicano fashion designer Willy Chavarría first devised his latest shoe drop — a chunky sneaker topped with the sleek, black leather weave of artisanal Mexican huaraches — he meant to honor his roots.

Instead, it seems he stepped on some toes.

The designer unveiled his Oaxaca Slip On with Adidas at the Art Museum in Puerto Rico last weekend. Since then, many have taken to social media to call out the brand for cultural appropriation — citing everything from the use of the name “Oaxaca,” to the fact that the shoes aren’t even made in Mexico, but evidently manufactured in China.

The backlash raised questions about who profits from Mexican and Indigenous culture and who gets left out. Though the design draws from traditional huaraches made in the Indigenous communities of Oax

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