SeptemVer: An Emerging Fashion Brand Rooted in Manipur

By Prerna Saini | October 09, 2026

SeptemVer was founded by Rainson Potshangbam, an entrepreneur from Manipur whose journey into business began long before the brand took shape. Growing up in a lower-middle-class family, Rainson understood early the value of hard work, education, and making the most of every opportunity. He excelled academically and secured the 20th position in the Higher Secondary Examination of Manipur in 2018. It was a proud moment for his family, who believed he was on the path towards a stable professional career. To support that future, they made a significant financial sacrifice, borrowing money to fund a college education that cost around ₹3.5 lakh a year, despite the family earning only about ₹3 lakh annually.

But life had a different direction in store. As Rainson stepped into entrepreneurship, he began noticing a gap in Manipur’s fashion market. Finding authentic, fashionable, and timeless products was difficult. Customers often had to choose between locally available copies or importing authentic pieces at a significant premium. Rainson saw an opportunity to change that—to make authentic fashion more accessible while building a business around quality and trust. SeptemVer initially started as an online seller through Facebook Marketplace, giving Rainson an opportunity to understand the market firsthand, interact directly with customers, and learn what people were actually looking for. The early journey, however, was anything but straightforward. Poor-quality suppliers, inconsistent products, logistics challenges, and limited cash flow meant that almost every stage involved trial and error. The focus gradually became less about simply selling products and more about understanding what customers truly valued.

One of the biggest lessons came from customers who were willing to pay more for reliability rather than simply choosing the cheapest option. This encouraged Rainson to move away from local, non-branded goods and begin partnering with authentic Indian brands and ISI-marked manufacturers. The experience of selling through Facebook Marketplace also showed him that many customers wanted to see and experience the products before making a purchase. Some buyers were hesitant to trust quality products they could only see online and preferred visiting a store in person. This eventually led to the opening of a physical retail space, marking the next stage of SeptemVer’s journey. It also taught Rainson that an offline presence has its own community of customers, expectations, and opportunities.

Then came another difficult chapter. With little revenue and limited cash flow, managing staff salaries, inventory, and restocking became increasingly challenging. During the 2025 festive season, several mass-produced products developed quality issues, with soles detaching after only a few uses. SeptemVer had to honour warranties for many customers, reinforcing a lesson that would ultimately shape the future of the brand. That was the moment Rainson realized that if quality was going to be the foundation of the brand, SeptemVer needed to take ownership of the product itself. The decision to create its own designs and manufacture them under its own name changed everything. Finding reliable factories brought another round of challenges, including significant investments in manufacturers with poor quality control. But every setback became a lesson—start with smaller production runs, test thoroughly, refine the product, and scale only when the quality is right.

Every operational mistake became an SOP upgrade. Every quality issue became a design upgrade. We acknowledge what went wrong, learn from it, and build better. Refined through experience. Built with patience. Designed with intent

Today, Rainson’s vision for SeptemVer goes beyond creating and selling boots. He wants SeptemVer to become an aspirational fashion brand—a name people recognize, desire, and feel proud to wear. The goal is to combine excellent product quality with top-notch service and a thoughtful shopping experience. The journey from Facebook Marketplace to physical retail, from local products to authentic Indian brands, and finally to SeptemVer’s own creations has been shaped by experimentation, mistakes, and persistence. Through it all, one commitment remains unchanged: SeptemVer will never compromise on quality and service.