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The mayors of Cannes, Villeneuve-Loubet and the Corsican
seaside resort of Sisco imposed the ban last week, arguing the
burkini, which leaves only the face, hands and feet exposed,
defies French laws on secularism.
"Our sales have increased and the more they actually ban it, or
the more they actually reject it, it doesn't mean a woman will
stop wearing it," Sydney designer Aheda Zanetti told Reuters.
"I think they've misunderstood, I think that when we produced
the swimsuit it was part of integration, it was part of
combining cultures."
The burkini debate is particularly sensitive in France, where
the full face niqab and burqa veils were banned in 2010.
Tensions between communities have heightened following deadly
attacks by Islamist militants.
Last month, a Tunisian killed 85 people when he drove a truck
into crowds in Nice and a Roman Catholic priest had his throat
cut in church by two French Muslims. And in November 130 people
were killed by bombings and shootings in Paris.
Zanetti, who has lived in Australia for more than 40 years since
moving from Lebanon, designed the burkini in 2004 after
struggling to find sporting garments suitable for Muslim women.
She said by using a hood to cover the head, rather than a burqa
veil, the burkini had become an option for non-Muslim women.
Zanetti estimated that 40 percent of her sales go to non-Muslim
women, with cancer survivors, body conscious mothers or women
who want to protect their skin from the sun among the buyers.
(Editing by Patrick Johnston and Simon Cameron-Moore)
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