Opinion | Bella! Bella! Cheers greet Sophia Loren as she visits Hong Kong

Veni, Vidi, Vici

She came, she saw, she conquered. A name that needs little introduction, 'the' Sophia Loren attended the reopening of Damiani's flagship store in Hong Kong at ELEMENTS mall in Kowloon. Decked in diamonds and a figure-hugging black gown, the 78-year-old actress, nay icon, wore pieces from the Sophia Loren Collection as she ventured into the flagship store. Cutting the ribbon with Giorgio Damiani, Vice President of Damiani Group and Alessandra Schiavo, Consul General of Italy, she blew kisses to the teeming crowd who gathered en mass to watch the grand dame of world cinema grace the occasion.

More pictures of Sophia Loren in Hong Kong 

The crowds, well, mostly the snaparazzi, alternated between yelling out "Sophia! Sophia" and "Bella! Bella!" to entice that famed name and decolletage to turn their way.

Pansy Ho and third-generation Damiani, Giorgio, were part of the cherry-picked few who entered the shop with the actress, while the others watched from the outside, nose-pressed against the windows as the few and the fabulous made their way around the 1,076 square foot boutique. A notably buff, suit-and-tie sporting bouncer kept the crowds at bay, while he held a sparking, grey, clutch that, presumably, belonged to la bellissima Italiana.

At the cocktail, dressed in a magenta Hugo Boss suit, it was hard not to miss Kam Kwok-Leung, who's been a fan of Loren for years. "I first saw her decades ago, at the premiere of the opera Turandot," said the radio personality. "I doubt she remembers me. There are so many classic Italian movies she's done that I love that I can't name one, but the combination of her and Marcello Mastroianni on-screen was wonderful." Pulling out a splendid portrait of Loren decked in diamonds and feathers, he hoped to get an autograph.