Threads of Evolution: Engineering a Community That Sparkles
Louisiana Art and Science Museum
Baton Rouge
Through Jan. 18
In 2010, when Jaime Glas Odom started her career as a petroleum engineer in Louisiana, she was told that she’d have to wear men’s coveralls to worksites because there were no flame-resistant suits designed for women.
After that experience, she spent months researching and problem solving. Eventually she launched her own line of flattering, functional garments for women in the oil and gas industry. She launched her first company, HauteWork, selling these garments in 2017. Two years later, it was acquired by National Safety Apparel; Odom pivoted to founding her current fashion brand: Queen of Sparkles.
The retrospective on her career now on view at the Louisiana Art and Science Museum features new designs, one-off gowns like her own wedding dress, and 1920s inspired looks for the 100th anniversary of LASM’s train station. Even the untrained eye can see that her new clothing line is a big pivot away from her functional work clothes. It’s maximilist. It’s sequins. It’s girly in the best way.
Curator Tracey Barhorst told the Advocate ahead of the exhibit opening that the goal of showcasing someone like Odom is to make exhibits accessible and engage people in all age groups and all socioeconomic statuses.
"We don't want to just be the museum that you come to when you're in fifth grade and never come back again," she told the Advocate.
Odom has a compelling story centered in Baton Rouge. She grew up here, and she had a conventional career lined up in the oil and gas industry, one of the largest industries in Louisiana. Then she drew on her expertise as an engineer and the classes she took at LSU to blend her interest in fashion with her work. Now she runs a multimillion-dollar fashion brand.
It all started right here. As a child, Odom visited this very museum and went on to the college many young people in Baton Rouge will some day go to. She’s a success story, and maybe some people will be inspired that they can do the same and follow their own dreams.
The exhibit is largely focused on sparkles and less about how specifically the worlds of science and fashion are blended together. It opens with a wall of 12 sweatshirts from the Queen of Sparkles Queen Card collection ($126/each). The space prominently features outfits designed for specific events, sometimes with an additional matching outfit for Odom’s dog. Her new branded collab with Cafe Du Monde is also displayed (the shirt is not currently listed on the website, but the shorts without the shirt are $150).
Sequins are beautiful; don’t get me wrong. Odom’s designs are art. But if the goal is accessibility across socioeconomic strata, the emphasis on galas and Queen of Sparkles’ commercially available products can obfuscate the story they’re trying to tell.
The result is an exhibit that features something that is genuinely visually pleasing and interesting but feels misnamed. What is this community the title speaks of and how was it engineered?
On the side of the room, Odom’s original flame-resistant jumpsuits feel a little out of place next to the sparkly custom pieces. One aqua jumpsuit even has a few stains on it from when Odom wore it on the field. Looking at it makes me wonder who Odom is behind the sparkles.
