Paul Smith: How the designer known for colourful stripes conquered fashion

Sir Paul Smith is famous for his signature stripes and colourful designs

Sir Paul Smith, the doyen of British fashion, is flailing around in his office with two large rubber chickens and making them squeak them with gusto.

"I've been working in Japan since 1982. And when I first went there, there was one person who spoke schoolboy English. So, it was very much about communicating through gesture, drawings, but also humour."

"So, if I was a bit tired at four o'clock in the afternoon, I used to just go into my bag and go..."

It certainly did the trick. Almost 45 years, later there are more than 20 Paul Smith stores in Japan, part of a global empire spanning 50 countries.

Sir Paul has invited BBC News to spend an afternoon with him at his London HQ to talk about his new autobiography Threads: My Life in Style.

Sir Paul Smith's office in central London is packed with books, trinkets, clothing and gifts

First, he is showing us what he jokingly calls his "minimalist executive suite" where he is surrounded by huge piles of gifts and curiosities, which he is sent every day by fans.

"For about 45 years, I've been receiving interesting things from a fan in America, and this is one of the latest ones," he says gesturing to a plastic goose covered in stamps with his address written on the side - continuing the plastic poultry theme.

"They always arrive without a box and there's no message so we're not really sure who they're from."

He picks out a few more favourites from what looks like the most jumbled of jumble sales, including a clockwork toy drummer, nativity scenes made out of nuts, and the bike Chris Froome won the Tour De France on.

And every morning, after his 0530 swim, he writes a thank you postcard to everyone who has included an address.