Celebrity Interview - Chris Tomic
The Fashionable Life
Chris Tomic The Fashionable Life
NICOLA McGEORGE DISCOVERS HOW CHRIS TOMIC IS PLANNING TO HELP MARBELLA STAY ABREAST OF LATEST FASHION TRENDS.
I'd like to share with you a story. While sitting in a local café having a coffee with a male friend of mine, a stunning black Lamborghini pulled up and out jumped a young, good looking guy. While I was in the middle of drooling, my friend turned to me and said knowingly, "Daddy's money."
"The Guy" turned out to be Chris Tomic of Fashion TV, who I later found out is "self-made" through years of dedicated hard work in technology, developments and events. He earned every inch of that car and I was glad that, for once in Marbella, not everything was at it seems.
To my friend I would like to reiterate the saying, "You can't judge a book by its cover." Everyone in Marbella has a story, and here is Chris Tomic's.
He was born in Germany, but feels more drawn to his Croatian roots. At 29, he is entering a new phase of his life. After over 10 years of working like a Trojan he is moving into events so he can enjoy more of life.
At 17 he began inventing things for the Internet and future technology. He modestly tells me that, with a friend, he invented the logos and ring tones for mobile phones, and describes his breakthrough as "quite well known". Is he being serious? I am sitting here with someone who actually changed the face of technology and he acts as though he made up a new drinks recipe. "I don't like to tell people this, as they find technology boring," he explains. This down to earth attitude is a rare find in Marbella. Apparently this breakthrough helped with the creation of SMS, or text messages to you and I. So how does his life in technology fit in with his new life of fashion events?
"I quickly became involved with mass media: music, movies, etc," says Chris. " When you work with ring tones, you get quickly pushed into music licensing, and this enabled me to create a lot of contacts in the media world, and therefore created the jump from technology to events." He moved onto organising fashion events and club tours in the most exclusive venues throughout Europe. Starting off with club tours for Heineken and Bacardi, he swiftly moved on to model casting events and "Miss" pageants, as well as hosting several official movie release parties for the likes of Studio 54.
"I found it interesting to be involved in organising these kinds of events; you get to meet a lot of fun people," he says with a big grin. "I took the elements of both my jobs that I knew I could do well - one side TV, the other events - and decided to become involved in Fashion TV parties. Of course, Chris couldn't do this on a small scale" No, he launched parties all over Europe. All ready done and dusted in Croatia, Germany and Italy, the next step was obviously... Marbella. "I chose Marbella because it is the melting pot of a lot of different cultures. I know the people of Marbella love fashion, and bringing Fashion TV to them means they get access to shows, haute couture and fashion news for free. They can see what's hot and what's not. Here in Marbella it is very important to be up to date with the latest fashions."
I totally agree with him: the people here do love fashion, yet we still seem, trend-wise, to be at least six months behind places such as London. We should be ahead of the fashion game, not lagging behind. I hope Chris and Fashion TV's influence will soon change this.
Chris decided to start off small and exclusive, with strict invite-only parties. The opening was at the boudoir style restaurant Room in Puerto Banús, and moved to a top Port nightclub for the rest of the summer.
He explains, "Next year will be big for Fashion TV and Marbella. We will throw regular parties alongside the FTV Diamond Day. This will be a whole day's event starting off at a beach club with brunch, moving on to a champagne party and lunch, then the pre-party, and finishing in a club. I also want to create a fashion weekend, where there will be catwalk shows, a Miss Marbella contest, and involve lots of different designers."
So it seems that by the end of next summer no one will have an excuse for dressing badly. I can finally look forward to the day when Marbella sets the trends.
CHRIS TOMIC'S FASHION ADVICE FOR MEN
- Don't dress to the extreme; dress like a gentleman. Do not try to be something you are not.
- Suits... do not wear with a boring white shirt; try something different, maybe mixing it with a funky T-shirt.
- Every man should know that his shoes must match his belt.
- Belong to a fashion group, but always add your own touch.
- The best designers are D&G for an excellent cut, Gucci and Fendi for accessories - and Louis Vuitton is good for everything.
- A great pair of jeans will take you everywhere. I like 7 For All Mankind, True Religion and Rock & Republic. You can team them with something like a cheap Zara T-shirt and it will still be a great outfit.
