Editor's note: This article was updated on August 11, 2025, to include Willy Chavarria's statement.
The huarache that broke the internet is what fashion designer Willy Chavarría's latest collaboration with Adidas did…but not in the way they’d hoped!
While the Chicano fashion designer debuted his sneaker hybrid huaraches at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico during an Adidas Originals panel, it wasn’t until he posted a now-deleted post to his Instagram earlier this week with the caption “SOON” that sparked the online discourse and backlash on both sides of the border.
Many are asking whether the huarache in question, which features black woven leather on top, a chunky sneaker base, is manufactured in China, and named “Oaxaca," constitutes cultural appropriation or appreciation.
For Los Angeles residents like Pedro Ramirez, who has been selling huaraches inside El Faro Plaza for 30 years, the collaboration Chavarría did might have had good intentions. Still, for him, it’s a disrespect to the history and cultural significance of the traditional huaraches made in Mexico by indigenous artesanos (artisans).
“We respect Adidas, but they have to respect what's ours too,” said Ramirez in Spanish as he stood behind the counter surrounded by a sea of leather huaraches. “It feels like they want to steal something that is ours, and this is a craftsmanship and art that goes back decades, and we don’t want it to be distorted or reconstructed. We want to preserve the original designs.”