The Philippaerts twins, to join H&M sponsored team

28 February - The 21-year-old brothers Nicola and Olivier Philippaerts are often described as the future stars of riding. And they have the results to prove it – they are currently ranked as numbers 55 and 43 in the world, and have, despite their young age already established themselves as international top riders.

H&M Life caught up with the Philippaerts just before the Gothenburg Horse Show to talk about fashion, brotherhood and horses.

WHAT DOES THIS PARTNERSHIP MEAN TO YOU?
NICOLA: ”For me, it's an amazing opportunity to ride for H&M. It's such a fantastic company and the H&M team is super nice to work with and very professional. We share the same vision – keep it simple and keep improving.”

OLIVIER: ”I am very proud to represent H&M. And I think together with Peder (Fredricson), Malin (Baryard) and my brother, we will be a great team.”

WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOUR BROTHER HAS DONE FOR YOU?
NICOLA: ”Winning titles. It means that I have to keep improving to beat him. I think it goes both ways – we’re constantly making each other better by winning titles. I think that’s very important.

OLIVIER: ”To only name one thing is very hard. I think Nicola is a person you can always rely on when you ask him something. He will always tell you his straight and honest opinion.”

YOU WERE BOTH MODELS IN THIS SHOOT FOR H&M – TELL US ABOUT IT!
NICOLA: ” It was a very nice experience. In the beginning we had to adapt because it's totally different to what we usually do. But in the end we were very happy with the results and the H&M team were too.

OLIVIER: ”Doing a photo shoot was really new for us. So in the beginning we didn't really know what to do. But in the end it was fun!”

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ABOUT YOUR BROTHER’S FASHION STYLE?
OLIVIER: ”I think Nicola is very open; he likes to try all different kinds of fashion. Always something new!”

NICOLA: ”Olivier has a good sense of style. He wears a lot of blue, grey, black. Sometimes more flashy colours like red or yellow. He likes to dress up for important meetings.”

NAME ONE THING YOUR BROTHER FALSELY THINKS HE IS GOOD AT!
OLIVIER: ”Football. Honestly, we will never be great football players!”

NICOLA: ”He thinks he’s good at choosing movies. There’s a few I actually like, but several I don’t like…”

WHO IS THE MOST COMPETETIVE?
NICOLA: ”We are both very competitive. We really like to win and give everything we have in the ring. In show jumping, it changes every week – one week he is better and the next week I am. But I like it that way.

OLIVIER: ”Nicola is very competitive, he hates to lose. But I am the same – we are both very keen to win.”

NICOLA, YOU WON THE WORLD CUP IN GOTHENBURG LAST YEAR. IS IT OLIVIER’S TURN THIS YEAR?
NICOLA: ”It was truly an amazing victory in Gothenburg for me last year. This year I will be riding Challenge. I gave him a little break before Gothenburg, so I hope he will be fresh and ready for the world cup. I will try and win again this year, but of course it is very difficult. I hope Challenge will jump well and that we will have a great show!”

OLIVIER: I will do the best I can! Gothenburg is a show everybody wants to win in their lifetime.”

To take a look at the H&M campaign featuring the two brothers take a look here.

source: http://www.hm.com/