Is it OK for fashion brands to take inspiration from other cultures?

Hey, it's Hannah here. Welcome back to What in the World from the BBC World Service. Today, we're talking about a pair of Adidas shoes, the Oaxaca slip-ons, that have slipped into a major cultural row. They're inspired by oaxacas, which are traditional leather sandals made in Oaxaca, the Mexican state, and they have been crafted for generations by indigenous communities. But with its slip-ons, Adidas didn't work with the original designers, and there are some reports that the sandals were made in China. Now, Mexico has accused Adidas of cultural appropriation. There's been backlash online, and even Mexico's president has called it out. Adidas has said it now recognises the criticism. So today, we're going to work out what that line is between cultural appreciation and appropriation. Let's find out more about this now from Jennifer Mayerhands, a BBC business reporter. Hi, Jennifer. Hiya. So as a starting point, we hear a lot about cultural appropriation. Can you give me a definition of what exactly it means? Yeah, so it's the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas of one people or society by members of a typically more dominant people or society. And all of this controversy that we've been talking about is about a pair of shoes. How did it unfold? A Mexican-American fashion designer, Willy Chavarria, he collaborated with Adidas Originals, and these slip-on shoes were unveiled as part of that collection. But soon after images were released, people started criticising them online, saying they looked like Warachi sandals made in the Oaxaca state they're named after. And some felt that this amounted to stealing from the indigenous communities who make them. Kind of like plagiarism when you copy someone else's idea. Exactly, yeah. Tell me a bit more about the designer, Willy Chavarria. He's very well known, isn't he? Yeah, so he is a Mexican-American fashion designer who was Calvin Klein's senior vice president of design until 2024. He founded his own brand and he's chief creative officer of his own label. His collections are well known for making political statements. He's also known for championing Mexican-American culture and he's spoken of using his brand to raise up women, people of colour, queer people and the trans community. And so was it the copying of the ideas of the original sandal design? Was that the issue that Mexican authorities and artisans, handicraft makers had with the shoes? Yeah, there was anger that these traditional designs handcrafted by artisans over many generations are being copied, basically, by a big brand that will make lots of money from selling them. They feel like these communities are being exploited as it's based on their original work and they won't see any of the profits. Mexico's president weighed it into the row. She told a press conference big companies often take products, ideas and designs from indigenous communities. And she said she was looking at a new law to be able to support them. What have the designer, Willy Chavarria and Adidas said about it? So in a statement to the BBC, he said, "I'm deeply sorry that the shoe was appropriated in this design and not developed in direct and meaningful partnership with the Oaxacan community." He went on that his intention was always to honour the powerful cultural and artistic spirit of Oaxaca and its creative communities, a place whose beauty and resistance have inspired me. Adidas told the BBC that it recognises and values the cultural richness of Mexico's indigenous communities and the meaning of their artisanal heritage. You're going to hear more from my chat with Jennifer in just a minute but I want to find out now about the rights that designers and artisans in Mexico have when it comes to their creations. So here is intellectual property lawyer Javier Utof. Mexico has over 68 recognized indigenous groups, each with a distinctive either textile or craft or designs. So protecting them is viewed as a safeguard to the country's identity and history. Unfortunately, for decades, indigenous communities have seen their work being copied by other brands without any credit or compensation. In Mexico, communities can bring some administrative actions which can result in orders to stop commercialization and start negotiation agreements. Back in 2020, the Mexican government compelled a French designer, Isabel Marant, to publicly apologize and acknowledge the Purepecha community as the originators and the creators of the textile pattern that she used for a very famous design. In 2021, the federal law for the protection of the cultural heritage of indigenous and Afro-Mexican people and community was enacted. However, the law's wording is broad and implementation rules are still on development and it's not always clear how companies should seek consent. I mean, our legal framework is not enough to start a process like Adidas was very lucky. So they went only with a warning, even when there was some economic harm to artisans. And I think their biggest problem would be that they are not going to be able to sell what they already produced. But we, the Mexican people, have to build a better law that we can really use in this type of cases. And back to you, Jen. Of course, Adidas isn't the only brand that has faced backlash over cultural appropriation. It's not that unusual. I have seen numerous cases where this has come up over the years. Something similar happened with Prada back in June when it acknowledged in a letter to an Indian trade group that its sandals were inspired by traditional Indian footwear. And earlier this year, Dior was criticised after its highly anticipated Paris collection featured a golden ivory houndstooth coat. Lots of people pointed out that was craft with centuries-old metal embroidery technique from Northern India. The collection didn't mention the roots or India at all. The BBC reached out to Dior for a comment but we haven't heard back. Have you got any examples of where these collaborations have actually worked and created something that has been celebrated? Yes, it has worked out in the past. The French brand Chloe made a collaboration with Amon Bay. The owner of this brand is from Paraguay, and they launched a sandal collection made by people from the Macca community. And they said they ensured artisans received fair compensation for their work. And in 2020, Louis Vuitton displayed a collection of its iconic trunks in Mexico and the brand commissioned artisans from Oaxaca communities, who painted them with different symbols from their cultures. So this can be done in a way that is more respectful of the original traditions. Is there an argument that when big brands do come along and copy these kinds of designs, that actually raises the profile of the artwork from these communities? Some people listening to this might also be thinking, what is the difference between cultural appropriation and just jumping on something that's really trendy. Yes, it's a tricky one. People have quite opposing views on each side. Like you say, some people might see it as a celebration of these ancient designs and the people who create them. And if a brand as big as Adidas is shining a light on them, they're bringing them to mainstream attention. Kind of imitation is the highest form of flattery type thing. But others feel these sandals aren't a trend for the world to jump on. They're part of the cultural value and meaning and they're precious to specific communities. And they're really angry that such a powerful brand has done this seemingly without recognizing and compensating the communities they belong to. Do we know if Adidas will now compensate those communities? We don't know. The Mexican culture minister said that Adidas had been in touch with the Oaxacan community to see how it could compensate and make amends. Jennifer, thank you so much for speaking to us. Welcome. So how can brands avoid claims of cultural appropriation? Here's Javier again. So engage in early consultation, identify the community behind the design and obtain a free and prior informed consent before development. So reach out to them. Reach out to the communities. Develop some collaboration agreements that may include some fair compensation. Use some cultural advisers. Publicly acknowledge the origin and meaning of the designs. And lastly, invest in long-term partnerships. So instead of a one-off collaboration, start building ongoing relationships that support the community economically and culturally. This is a prickly issue, especially with globalization and the internet spreading culture faster than ever. But the fact that the big players here have acknowledged what went wrong shows that there is a way to do it right, which is working with the designers and the artisans, not in competition with them. And cultural appropriation can apply to all kinds of things, even food. We've done an episode on that on the delicious Vietnamese dish pho. After the word was trademarked by a British-owned restaurant chain. And there was a whole campaign about it on TikTok. You can listen to that episode wherever you're listening to this. And that's all from me. I hope you've enjoyed this. Please do like, follow, subscribe and share with your friends. It really does help us to get the word out. I'm Hannah. This is What in the World from the BBC World Service. See you next time.