MEXICO CITY — 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.

US fashion designer Willy Chavarria said Saturday he regrets that sandals he created together with Adidas "appropriated" a traditional design from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca."I deeply regret that this design has appropriated the name and was not developed in direct and meaningful partnership with the Oaxacan community,

The Mexican state of Oaxaca is threatening legal action against Adidas, accusing the footwear company of cultural appropriation over a newly unveiled shoe that resembles a traditional handmade sandal.