Tina Turner Grabbed 'Another Butterfinger' After Being Told She Lost Weight, Recalls Bob Mackie (Exclusive)

Tina Turner knew that part of the fun of life was indulging her sweet tooth.

The music superstar's longtime friend and costume designer Bob Mackie reflects on their bond in this week's issue of PEOPLE, and in one anecdote, fondly recalls a time that Turner, who died on May 24 at age 83, quit candy — then quickly reversed course.

Mackie, 84 says that at one point during concert rehearsals, Turner grew concerned after thinking she'd gained a few pounds.

"She says, 'Well, I've got to stop eating those Butterfingers.' And I told her, I said, 'Oh Tina, you look like you've lost weight,'" he recalls. "And she looks over to Rhonda, her assistant, who was in the dressing room. She says, 'Rhonda, bring me another Butterfinger.' She enjoyed life."

Mackie says the "Proud Mary" singer loved to cook, and that he remembers many a night spent on the patio in her backyard, where they'd nosh on a "lovely meal" whipped up by her chef accompanied by a cocktail or glass of champagne.

"It was so hard to hear that news, but at the same time, I'm not worried about her. Wherever she is, she's laughing and having a good time, I hope," he says. "She was purely amazing. She was just one of those personalities that should be in the public’s eye. She really should have been, always. There's nobody like her."

The fashion designer first met Turner in the late 1970s, shortly after she'd left her abusive first husband Ike Turner. Mackie says that at the time, she was in search of "a different life," and soon she was hitting the nightclub circuit as a solo star for the first time.

Before long, the two had teamed up on her wardrobe (Turner famously wore Mackie’s flame dress), with Mackie taking extra care to show off the singer's famous legs.

"You were always aware of the legs. Sometimes, the dresses would be long, but then it would be stilt clear up to almost her waist, and that leg would come out, and she would strut around the stage," he says. "You couldn't beat it, really. It was unbelievable."

He adds: "Her dresses were damn short. They all usually had a sewn-in little pair of trunks inside. The legs were beautiful, and she had a great walk. She'd strut across that stage or down a runway in a big stadium. I think she generated such joy, and that's what entertainers should do if they can."

When Turner hit the road on her Farewell Tour in 1990, Mackie designed her looks, and recalls one night he spent watching her perform alongside actor Denzel Washington.

"When she got up on this claw, I thought [Washington] was going to have a heart attack, he was so afraid she was going to hurt herself," Mackie says. "And of course she didn't, and she had the best time the whole time. The whole audience went crazy."

He also praises her incredible endurance, noting that Turner would wear high heels that "hurt like hell," forcing her to take a Tylenol before going on stage to power through.

"As a costume designer, anybody that will wear their costume, wear their shoes, and not take anything off, to me, is a hero," he says. "She knew who she was, what she looked like and what she could do as a performer. She had it figured out probably when she was 3 years old. There's those people that are born to entertain, and she's one of those."

For more on Tina Turner, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday.