about the Head Honcho

Fat Tie founder Mari Gallen’s love of clothes and style inspired her to embark on her design path in her 20s. She began sewing her original designs as a hobby. The designer created accessories and apparel items for herself and for friends and family who requested them. She quickly realized that her newfound hobby was a passion and enrolled in sewing lessons to enhance her sewing ability before attending Los Angeles Trade Technical College and earning a degree in fashion design.

Mari was once married to a Hollywood heavy hitter who produced major TV specials, so she found herself walking red carpets and attending some of the most exclusive entertainment industry events and awards shows, sharing dinner tables with A-list celebrities like Renee Zellweger, Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson. During all this hobnobbing, she noticed how uncomfortable the men looked in their “penguin suits.” Little did she know that she would create a comfortable shirt-and-tie look for boys just a few years later.

The creative designer is aware of her strengths and has tapped into many of them. Mari began her career in public relations, working at the prestigious Rogers & Associates agency in Los Angeles, after receiving her bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Florida. She then went on to explore another aspect of the communications field by working in advertising, specializing in packaging before leaving the corporate world. Her background in public relations & advertising proves effective in running her own company.

Creativity is the thread that binds all of Mari’s endeavors.  She continues to find inspiration that sparks inventive designs by wandering through Japanese clothing and grocery stores, people watching, fabric shopping and checking out children's book illustrations at the library.   

Mari lives in Southern California with her son Max.  When she isn’t sketching new Fat Tie designs she enjoys working out, snowboarding, eating Italian and Japanese food and spending time with her friends and family.