London (CNN) Activists created a makeshift beach Thursday outside the French Embassy in London as part of a demonstration against France's burkini ban.

So far 15 French towns have banned the burkini , a full-length swimsuit that covers the whole body except for the face, hands and feet. Officials say the ban on the outfit -- mostly worn by Muslim women -- is a response to growing terror concerns

Wearing everything from bikinis to burkas, and even priest cloaks, demonstrators in London built sand castles and brandished signs saying: "Wear what you want."

"I think it's ridiculous," said event organizer Fariah Syed of the burkini ban. "No one, regardless of their religion and race, should be told what they should wear and where they can wear it.

"It's important to show solidarity because of the spread of Islamophobia around the globe -- especially in France."

Syed was joined by bikini-wearing Natalie, who asked that her last name not be used. "Women ought to be able to make their own choice about what they wear -- whether that be a bikini or burkini, it makes no difference," she said.

"Women ought to be able to make their own choice about what they wear, whether that be a Bikini or Burkini. It makes no difference." Alice Jones and Natalie at a demonstration against the Burkini ban in France. A photo posted by Erin McLaughlin (@erincnn) on Aug 25, 2016 at 6:38am PDT

Meanwhile, Jenny Dawkins, a Church of England priest, wore her traditional cloaks after hearing about Muslim women "being treated in a way which was totally unacceptable and must have been very intimidating and frightening."

"I'm a priest in the Church of England so I am wearing my uniform. I'm wearing it because I heard this story about women exercising their religious faith by what they choose to wear and they were treated in a way that is totally unacceptable and must have been intimidating and frightening and I wanted to stand in solidarity with them" Jenny Dawkins and a demonstration against the Burkini ban outside the French Embassy in London. A photo posted by Erin McLaughlin (@erincnn) on Aug 25, 2016 at 7:22am PDT

"I think it's a frightening image," she said of the photos that emerged Wednesday. "I find it quite chilling to see an image of a woman surrounded by men with guns being told to take her clothes off."

Police fine a woman in a burkini Wednesday on the beach along the Promenade des Anglais in Nice.

J.K. Rowling takes aim at Sarkozy

Separately, best-selling British novelist J.K. Rowling criticized former French President Nicolas Sarkozy's comments that wearing a burkini was a "provocation."

"The burkini affair, everybody sees it is a provocation, a provocation for the service of a project of radicalized political Islam," Sarkozy, a presidential hopeful in 2017, said in a televised interview Wednesday with TF1.

The "Harry Potter" author hit back in a tweet, saying: "So Sarkozy calls the burkini a 'provocation.' Whether women cover or uncover their bodies, seems we're always, always 'asking for it.'"

So Sarkozy calls the burkini a 'provocation.' Whether women cover or uncover their bodies, seems we're always, always 'asking for it.' — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) August 25, 2016

London mayor: Women have right to choose

London Mayor Sadiq Khan also weighed in on the burkini debate during a press conference Thursday with his Paris counterpart, Anne Hidalgo.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan meets his Paris counterpart, Anne Hidalgo, in the French capital Thursday.

"I'm a proud feminist," said Khan, adding: "I don't think anybody should tell women what to wear or what they shouldn't wear."

Antwerp mayor likens burkini to 'a tent'

Antwerp Mayor Bart De Wever, left, with former French President Nicolas Sarkozy earlier this year.

Asked in an interview this week with Belgium newspaper De Morgen if he would be implementing a ban on burkinis, Antwerp Mayor Bart De Wever said it looks as if it's a question of taste -- "like wearing white socks with sandals."

"I've read the craziest left-wing opinions about it," he said.

"If I understand it correctly, we have to protect the wearing of the Burkini as the most important milestone in the emancipation of the woman since the bra burnings of the Dolle Mina in the 1970s," he told the paper, referring to a Dutch feminist group.

"In the past, a Muslim woman could only sit in a tent on the beach. Now she's allowed to put that tent on and go into the ocean with it. We're improving."

Cartoons from the Muslim world

Sudanese artist Khalid Albaih gave his unique take on the ban, depicting a women being ordered to undress in France, and uncover in other parts of the world.

#Khartoon - Laws - To cover or uncover? name of freedom, while others in the name of religion #cartoon pic.twitter.com/ZWIVwjHYcN — ALBAIH (@khalidalbaih) August 24, 2016

The political cartoonist, who lives in Qatar, has been published in such news outlets as The Atlantic, The Guardian and Al Jazeera.

What's the view from France?

Photos: Burqa, hijab, niqab: What's what? Do you know the difference between a hijab and a niqab? How about a burqa and a chador? Click through to read about the different types of headscarves some Muslim women wear. Hide Caption 1 of 6 Photos: Burqa, hijab, niqab: What's what? Hijab: The scarf worn tightly around the head and neck does not cover the face. It is the most common Islamic head covering. This Indonesian girl is shopping for a hijab in Yogyakarta. Hide Caption 2 of 6 Photos: Burqa, hijab, niqab: What's what? Burkini: The full-body swimsuit worn by Muslim women leaves only the face, hands and feet exposed. Here a woman in a burkini wades in the water with a child at Ghar El Melh beach in Tunisia. Hide Caption 3 of 6 Photos: Burqa, hijab, niqab: What's what? Burqa: This full-body garment has a mesh over the eyes. The burqa is widely used in Afghanistan and was required under the Taliban. These Afghan women are shopping in Herat. Hide Caption 4 of 6 Photos: Burqa, hijab, niqab: What's what? Niqab: The full-face veil exposes only the eyes. A Palestinian bride in Jericho wears this one. Hide Caption 5 of 6 Photos: Burqa, hijab, niqab: What's what? Chador: The full-body black garment leaves the face exposed. These Iranian women are wearing chadors at a political meeting in Tehran. Hide Caption 6 of 6

France already became the first European country to ban wearing burqas in public in 2011.

And much like the recent burkini bans, opinion in the country is divided between those who see the laws as an infringement on religious freedom, and those who view the Islamic dress as inconsistent with France's rigorously enforced secularism.

Hervé Lavisse, president of the Cannes-Grasse section of the Human Rights League, told CNN t he bans would be counterproductive because "instead of appeasing people, it will inflame tensions."

But Valérie Boyer -- who represents the Bouches-Du-Rhone region as a member of the center-right Les Republicains -- previously said in a statement: "Burka, chador, abaya, niqab, hijab, the name doesn't matter.

"They constitute a confinement of the gender, a negation of the person, a prohibition of liberty, a prohibition equality, a prohibition of fraternity."