On a quiet side street in Hammersmith, a former county lines runner measures out fabric instead of territory. Around him, sewing machines whirr, mood boards replace mugshots, and the language is all about cuts and seams-not cuts and scores. This unlikely scene is the result of a pioneering approach by Hammersmith & Fulham’s Gangs Unit, which is teaming up with fashion partners to offer young people a way out of criminal exploitation and into creative careers.As London continues to grapple with youth violence and organised drug networks, H&F’s specialist unit is rewriting the rulebook on prevention and rehabilitation. Rather than relying solely on enforcement, the team is embedding opportunity into its strategy: connecting at-risk young people and former gang members with industry mentors, training programmes, and real jobs in the fashion world.
This article explores how one west London borough is turning “county lines” into “fashion lines”-and what its bold experiment could mean for tackling gang crime across the capital and beyond.
How Hammersmith and Fulham’s Gangs Unit is breaking the cycle of county lines exploitation
Built on close partnerships and relentless outreach, the unit’s approach pairs specialist youth workers with detectives, social workers and local schools to identify at-risk teenagers long before exploitation becomes entrenched. Officers work in plain clothes on estates,attend pupil referral units,and sit in family kitchens,listening before they act. Instead of relying solely on enforcement, they map the subtle signs of grooming – sudden absences, unexplained cash, new phones – and intervene with tailored support.This means not only disrupting the phone lines that fuel drug networks, but also dismantling the emotional ties, threats and debts that keep young people trapped. Alongside this, the council has embedded mental health practitioners and trauma-informed counsellors to help repair the psychological damage left by coercion and violence.
The strategy hinges on practical opportunity as much as protection, ensuring young people step into something better, not just away from harm. Through the partnership with the London College of Fashion and local creative businesses, the unit now routes survivors into structured fashion, retail and design programmes that offer paid experience and visible pathways out of criminal economies. Typical elements of support include:
- Specialist mentoring from workers with lived experience of gangs and exploitation
- Creative skills workshops in fashion,styling,branding and photography
- Safe spaces for learning,away from postcode rivalries and local threats
- Direct links to apprenticeships,internships and studio placements
| Support Pathway | What It Offers |
|---|---|
| Intensive Exit Plan | One-to-one safety planning,housing and legal advocacy |
| Fashion Futures | Short courses leading to portfolio pieces and industry contacts |
| Work & Wages | Paid placements with local brands to replace illicit income |
Inside the partnership model linking youth workers police and fashion mentors
Behind the initiative is a tightly coordinated ecosystem where each partner plays a distinct role but shares a single objective: diverting young people from exploitation into sustainable creative careers.Youth workers act as the constant presence, building trust on estates and in schools, then carefully introducing young people to the unit’s dedicated police officers and fashion mentors. Together they map out each individual’s risks and ambitions,frequently enough around a table where case notes sit alongside sketchbooks and fabric swatches.It’s a model built on shared intelligence, not siloed interventions, and on consistent faces, not one-off encounters.
- Youth workers identify vulnerability and maintain day-to-day contact
- Police officers provide safeguarding, intelligence and exit routes from gangs
- Fashion mentors offer skills, paid placements and access to industry networks
- Local colleges support accredited learning and progression
- Community organisations contribute space, outreach and wraparound support
| Role | Key Focus | Outcome for Young People |
|---|---|---|
| Youth Workers | Trust & advocacy | Feel heard and supported |
| Police | Protection & exit planning | Safer paths away from gangs |
| Fashion Mentors | Training & real work | Portfolio, income, confidence |
The power of the model lies in its shared decision-making. Weekly multi-agency meetings review each young person’s progress: a police officer might flag a new risk on a local estate; a youth worker updates on family pressures; a mentor showcases a standout garment or marketing concept created in the studio. Interventions are then tailored in real time-fast-tracked counselling,a last-minute show invitation,a shift from retail to design if a talent emerges. This constant calibration transforms safeguarding into a live, responsive process, where criminal intelligence directly informs creative opportunity, and where the route out of county lines can start with a single pattern-cutting class or photography brief.
From risk to runway the role of fashion industry pathways in long term rehabilitation
On the streets, risk is a constant currency; in the studio, risk becomes a design choice. By partnering with local colleges, ethical brands and autonomous designers, H&F’s Gangs Unit reroutes young people away from county lines towards creative industry pathways that feel authentic, aspirational and paid. Participants move through structured stages – from basic textile skills to full runway production – mirroring the discipline and teamwork once demanded by gang hierarchies, but now channelled into collection deadlines, styling briefs and brand pitches. Crucially, mentors with lived experience act as bridges, translating the language of survival into a new grammar of craft, collaboration and commercial awareness.
These pathways are not about “make-do” workshops; they are about long-term rehabilitation through real jobs and visible impact. Young people help design capsule collections, contribute to lookbooks and support backstage at shows, building portfolios that can live on LinkedIn, not police databases. Alongside core training, they access wraparound support such as:
- 1:1 coaching on confidence, communication and workplace culture
- Paid placements with local fashion and retail partners
- Accredited courses in fashion, merchandising and digital marketing
- Ongoing casework to manage housing, education and legal issues
| Stage | Focus | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Discover | Intro workshops & studio visits | Interest & basic skills |
| Develop | Technical training & mentoring | Portfolio & references |
| Launch | Runway events & work placements | Sustained employment |
What other councils can learn practical steps to replicate H and F’s preventative approach
Councils looking to mirror H&F’s success can begin by reshaping how they listen, who they hire and where they invest. That means embedding youth workers, mentors and mediators directly into schools, pupil referral units and local estates, and backing them with the same seriousness usually reserved for enforcement teams. It also means forging long-term partnerships with local businesses and creative industries so that every intervention is paired with a visible route into work, training or enterprise. Simple,early changes can be transformative,such as creating a single point of contact for worried parents,or commissioning community groups to deliver culturally competent,trauma-informed support on evenings and weekends when young people say they need it most.
Replication is less about copying a blueprint and more about adopting a mindset that treats young people as future colleagues, not future offenders. Councils can build multi-agency hubs where police, housing, education, youth justice and health professionals share intelligence in real time and co-design responses alongside residents. Practical building blocks include:
- Co-located teams working from community venues, not just civic offices.
- Flexible commissioning that funds small grassroots groups on outcomes, not just paperwork.
- Visible progression pathways into fashion, tech, hospitality and skilled trades.
- Youth-led advisory panels shaping services, campaigns and communications.
| Step | Action | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Map risk | Use data and local insight to spot hotspots | Resources go where harm is highest |
| Recruit differently | Hire staff with lived experience of exploitation | Faster trust with young people |
| Offer alternatives | Broker apprenticeships and creative projects | Shift from county lines to career lines |
To Conclude
As H&F’s pioneering Gangs Unit continues to rewrite the script for some of the borough’s most vulnerable young people, the early results suggest that a different future is not only possible but already taking shape. What began as a hard-edged response to county lines exploitation has evolved into a model that treats fashion studios and mentoring sessions with the same seriousness as enforcement operations.
The approach is still developing, and the challenges remain stark. Yet, by drawing young people away from the margins and into creative, paid work, the borough is testing a blueprint that other councils are now watching closely. In Hammersmith & Fulham, the journey from county lines to fashion lines is no longer a slogan – it is a lived, and in some cases life-changing, reality.
