Surrounded by other women, and by threads, patterns and a few religious images, Thomas, a 43-year-old mother of five children, is preparing the next collection behind bars."&polyester sewing thread Factory39;Model' prisonersThe IntegrArte brand has been registered by the government, but a couple more steps are needed before it enters the market. In the other three prisons, men work on household items and handicrafts.Another inmate, Stefani Edwards, sashayed down the improvised runway to show off a colorful Afro-Caribbean dress.". That's why you always need something to do to keep the mind occupied," she said.A way to feel 'normal'Twenty-five women work for IntegrArte in the prison, while another 50 receive sewing lessons.So far, the brand has brought out one collection, called Paraiso Etnico (Ethnic Paradise) which combines styles from the 1970s and 1980s with traditional handiwork typical to Panama.Thomas spends eight hours a day in the sewing room, mostly concentrating on embroidery. Outside I would never thought that I would get to know a person like that," Luna said."The problem inside is that it triggers many things. She is part of IntegrArte, a brand of clothes, accessories and decorative objects -- all made by inmates.In a small yard, several inmates, wearing makeup and carefully coiffed, try on different pieces and designs. But I never had the financial or family backing," she said.They also believed that giving themselves over to fashion allowed them to escape, for periods at a time, from the tough reality of living behind bars."This is an opportunity for someone locked up to show that they can become different, they can change and become better," said one of them, Teresa Santamaria, sporting an embroidered white top.Panama's vice president, Isabel de Saint Malo, said the involvement of the women in an economic activity was "fundamental to the efforts toward equal opportunities for men and for women.Thomas, behind her digital sewing machine, said: "There are women who -- more than a gift or punishment -- just need to have someone listen to them."Other inmates said the clothes-making and the modeling made them discover skills they never knew they had."Modeling was always my dream.The Cecilia Orillac de Chiari penitentiary where she is kept holds 800 female prisoners, living in houses that feature kitchens, laundries, washrooms and dormitories.Now, they've become "model" prisoners, focusing on fashion in the hopes of launching catwalk careers once they get released. Here, there are no bad women."In all, four penitentiaries in Panama offer the same sort of social reinsertion work program, which is backed by the United Nations and which shaves time off sentences.In the meantime, several ministers -- including De Saint Malo -- have been wearing its clothes, including those made by Luna, who is also locked up for drug trafficking."Dressing a vice president is the # biggest thing I have ever done.Some of them used to be among the more rebellious, "climbing on roofs and inciting strikes," explained the prison's director, Lizeth Berrocal. It goes toward reducing her three-year sentence for dealing drugs.Hania Fonseca, the manager of IntegrArte, said: "Each item that we put out carries with it the history of the person who made it. Some 100 inmates take part.In the Cecilia Orillac de Chiari facility, women produce clothes, hats, necklaces and purses.Panama City: In a small room in a prison on the outskirts of Panama City, Kathia Thomas carefully presses the screen on a digital sewing machine to choose the colors and embroidery on her next item of clothing. "I think when I get out of here that will be my goal."Locked away, the prisoners cannot hire models to try on their garb, so they do their own runway shows."Making clothes frees you," she added."I love making clothes because it's a way for me to feel totally normal," said a Colombian inmate, Claudia Luna, although she added that in prison "we lack a lot of material and work basically with our fingers, with whatever we have around

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