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. But I never had the financial or family backing," she said.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.Thomas spends eight hours a day in the sewing room, mostly concentrating on embroidery.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, theyve become "model" prisoners, focusing on fashion in the hopes of launching catwalk careers once they get released."Modeling was always my dream. It goes toward reducing her three-year sentence for dealing drugs. Outside I would never thought that I would get to know a person like that," Luna said."Model prisonersThe IntegrArte brand has been registered by the government, but a couple more steps are needed before it enters the market. Some 100 inmates take part.Another inmate, Stefani Edwards, sashayed down the improvised runway China Small connecting rod Wholesale to show off a colorful Afro-Caribbean dress.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.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 of them used to be among the more rebellious, "climbing on roofs and inciting strikes," explained the prisons director, Lizeth Berrocal.Panamas 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.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.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. Here, there are no bad women."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.A way to feel normalTwenty-five women work for IntegrArte in the prison, while another 50 receive sewing lessons."