Meet a seasoned pattern maker, Kimura, with over 20 years of experience who’s now pushing the boundaries of digital fashion creation with Marvelous Designer and CLO.
From futuristic uniforms to game-style texture work with CLO and Substance Painter—
this inspiring interview dives deep into the creative process that bridges fashion and CG.

Artist Introduction: please tell us about yourself.

I’ve been working in the apparel industry for over 20 years as a pattern maker. While my main focus has been women's wear, I’ve also created patterns for menswear, sportswear, and stage costumes, and have been involved in planning rental wear and event merchandise.

In recent years, I’ve embraced digital tools such as CLO3D and Marvelous Designer to create 3D garment data. I’m also involved in advisory work related to the integration of apparel technology and AI, using my background as a technical expert to support early-stage planning and problem-solving.

I’ve expanded my activities into creative and educational fields as well, including producing promotional videos that combine CLO and Unreal Engine, and teaching short courses on CLO3D and Marvelous Designer.

The main reason I applied for this contest was actually the opportunity to receive a one-year Marvelous Designer license—I primarily use CLO3D in my daily work, so that perk was especially appealing.

We’d like to hear more about the art direction in your Creator’s contest 2025 Vol.1 Seifuku Decoded Contest. What was the visual style you were aiming for?

The first thing I thought about was choosing a shape or theme that others might not typically create.

I felt that having more diversity in the entries would make the contest more engaging for viewers and enhance the overall visual impact of the exhibition.

Since I assumed that many participants would focus on women's fashion, I decided to design something that could be worn as menswear or unisex.

I also anticipated that many entries might feature school uniforms or designs suited for teenagers, so I deliberately avoided that direction.

As a first step, I began by gathering reference materials.

I collected images of occupational uniforms, and even garments commonly worn in specific professions that aren’t strictly "uniforms," to explore various design ideas.

During this process, I realized that in addition to practical factors like visibility and mobility, uniforms often carry a sense of authority as well.

I began to see how uniform design evolves in response to the changing needs of its wearers.

That led me to decide on the theme: "What might uniforms look like in the near future?"

• With the advancement of personal devices, I imagined that people would carry fewer and smaller items.

So I designed the outfit to include practical, wearable storage and easily accessible pockets.

• I also envisioned a growing demand for uniforms that are functional and comfortable in any environment.

Specifically:

① Weather-resistant yet breathable design that can handle rain and wind

② Detachable sleeves and vests to adapt to different seasons

③ Generous ease in the fabric to allow for a wide range of motion

　　—for example, pants designed to allow the wearer to open their legs wide

• Although I made a few adjustments to optimize it for 3D presentation, the pattern is fully functional and could be used to produce an actual garment

For the color scheme, I incorporated cyberpunk-inspired elements to give it a futuristic feel.

To better highlight the garment’s construction, I chose an avatar without a face and used a clean, minimal background.

Since this is a CLO/Marvelous Designer contest, I wanted to make the most of the tools and submitted renderings created in CLO.

I thought it would be a great opportunity to showcase what’s possible within CLO.

Would you be able to give us a quick overview of the different tools you use in your pipeline with a focus on Marvelous Designer? Have you encountered any challenges and how have you overcome them?

I started by creating the garment pattern using 2D CAD software.

Since I have experience as a pattern maker, this step isn’t usually a challenge as long as the design is finalized.

The one thing I paid particular attention to was making sure that the garment would not only look good as a 3D model, but also make structural sense as a real, wearable piece.

Once the pattern was complete, I exported the data as a DXF file, which can be imported into CLO.

Next, I brought the DXF file into CLO and assembled the garment.

During this stage, I made adjustments so that the final piece would appeal both to people with a background in fashion and to those in the CG or animation industries.

This included checking that the garment had realistic ease for movement, natural-looking wrinkles, and a three-dimensional structure that would create appealing shadows and highlights.

After finishing the construction, I did some quick color testing in CLO to explore different palettes.

I assigned different materials and colors to each part and separated them by UV areas—this approach made it easier for me to manage later.

For the texture work, I used Substance Painter.

I applied shading to show seam allowances and garment thickness, and for areas where heat bonding was assumed, I avoided adding thickness.

I also added stylized wear-and-tear effects such as dirt on edges, wrinkling, and fading—somewhat exaggerated, in the style often used in games.

As mentioned in the art direction section, I chose to render the final piece in CLO.

I applied the textures exported from Substance Painter to the CLO garment parts and fine-tuned elements like roughness to get the final look.

If you have any tips or techniques related to Marvelous Designer, please feel free to share them with the community!

I think it's best to approach pattern making without overcomplicating it — keep it simple!