Dressing the Part

To the three-time company builder, Lisbon local, and founder and creative director of Y.Chroma Apparel, midlife isn’t an age—it’s an opportunity.

“Midlife is your main act,” Max Israel says. “You’ve lived half a century of the most remarkable story. It’s not about reinvention, but about invention and deciding how you want to dress as the main character. Y.Chroma Apparel promises to help men feel ready for this moment in time and stand out with confidence.”

Through his carefully-curated wardrobe system, Israel offers something for everyone, from classics like the structured button-down and do-it-all pant in a range of earthy hues to the reimagined skater overshirt jacket.

“Many men grab a blazer off the back of their office chair, because, maybe they’re going to a work event and don't know what else to do,” Israel says. “With this design, I was inspired by Seattle grunge culture where you wear a plaid button-down over a t-shirt. This jacket is a more agile, flattering, and cool alternative to that blazer and allows for much more personality.”

The entire collection is designed to provide a simplified get-ready process with looks that consistently match and flatter. Each of Israel’s pieces are inspired by Lisbon’s craftsmanship and the city’s surf and skate culture, and constructed with materials from around the world—from Portugal to Paris and beyond. At the core of Israel’s design ethos: Color.

“Color equals vitality,” Israel says. “Many men are afraid to wear color, and frankly don’t know how. As you hit midlife, you feel youth slipping away, and you want to push back against it. Color is an important tool and we chose these specific colors to last the lifetime of the brand.”

The designer recalls attending a tech conference years ago and noticing that 90 percent of the men in the room were wearing the exact same clothes.

“The most common color in the world of fashion for men is gray,” Israel says. “You come up identifying as part of skate, surf, or BMX culture, and then something horrible happens—you get a job. There’s a lot of pressure to conform and look respectable and credible, but what happens is you find yourself in line at Starbucks, in the office, or at a conference, and realize every guy around you is wearing the exact same thing.”

As an avid suit-wearer pre-pandemic, Israel decided to reinvent his look after selling his tech company to pursue his clothing aspirations. The entrepreneur, a 20-year fashion hobbyist and 15-year suit designer, says that despite his time in the industry he was “shocked” and “appalled” at how difficult the process was.

“Most patterns that people use to make jeans and pants are modeled after an 18-year-old body,” Israel says. “We tore apart the old patterns and started from the beginning. Our goal was to redesign the pant in ways that flatter the body that men have today through thoughtful tailoring.”

Israel defines his obsession with fashion as “religious,” a zeal that was further intensified when he realized how underserved the Gen-X demographic is in the world of fashion.

“It’s one thing to have a great brand, but another to have a teaching brand,” Israel says. “My goal is to show ‘why’ our looks have a predictable outcome every time, so that morning stress in front of the closet is replaced by a ‘wow’ moment instead.”

As for what keeps the inspiration flowing? It’s all about the stories Israel receives from the enthusiastic wearers of Y.Chroma Apparel.

“The messages that resonate with me the most are the ones where a man is able to reclaim his sense of self,” Israel says. “Where he can appreciate the act of getting dressed as something that makes him feel better and able to approach life with confidence,” Israel says. “That’s why I do what I do.”