by Caroline McCauley

On Tuesday night, the legendary fashion designer and master couturier, Valentino Garavani, most commonly known as Valentino, appeared on the stage of the Kaufmann Concert Hall clad in a black suit with his hair slicked back and a fresh tan. The “lover of beautiful things” was immaculate. He sat down with New York Fashion Week creator, Fern Mallis to talk his childhood, affinity with beauty and the 2009 documentary about his life Valentino: The Last of Fashion Emperor. Here are our favorite quotes from the night.

On the documentary:

“It seemed like I was always yelling or screaming for something … they filmed when I even went to the Loo,”

On Mallis’ prying:

“You make me feel naked tonight.”

On his love of beauty:

“Beauty is very important, I love Beauty; it has always been my religion.”

On his childhood:

“I don’t know if I was a normal person. I was always dreaming constantly about everything.”

Mallis’ chat with Valentino was the last of this year’s “Fashion Icons” series at 92Y. Check out what we loved about her talk last month with fashion columnist and author Teri Agins.