Marvelous Designer to MetaHuman — Considerations

Period clothing built in Marvelous Designer (MD) or CLO and delivered as a resizable Outfit Asset that MetaHuman Creator fits to the character.

Version compatibility

Marvelous Designer	Unreal Engine
2025.0	UE 5.4 only
2025.2 or later (current: 2026.1, 24 Aug 2026; 2025.2 added the MetaHuman DNA importer)	UE 5.6 and later
—	UE 5.5 not compatible with the Chaos Cloth data

In Unreal: open the MetaHuman and export it as a Combined Skeletal Mesh; bring that body into MD as the avatar.
In MD: pattern, sew and simulate the garment on the avatar; set fabric physical properties; export USD.
In Unreal: import the USD; right-click the static mesh → Physics → Cloth Asset.
In the Dataflow Editor keep only: USD Import, Transfer Skin Weights, Remesh, Cloth Asset Terminal.
Add a Static Mesh Import node into Transfer Skin Weights, set to the Combined Skeletal Mesh with Closest Point on Surface.
Create an Outfit Asset from the Resizable Outfit Template; add the Cloth Asset as a source.
In MetaHuman Creator, apply it on the Hair and Clothing tab; it adapts to body changes. Add an LOD2 variant for Optimized builds.

A LiveSync route between MD and UE 5.6+ also exists for faster iteration (see Marvelous Designer — Tutorials).

Pattern from evidence. Draft from period patterns and museum garments (NHA textile collection); the costume historian signs off.
Layers. Chemise, corset or stays, petticoats, bodice, skirt, shawl, cap. Simulate the outer layers; fake the inner ones with shape.
Fabric weight. Wool, linen and silk behave differently; set MD properties from real fabric, not presets.
Quaker plain dress is not a single costume: plainness, color and cut changed across decades and between meetings.
Skirts and robes need Chaos Cloth tuning to avoid clipping at kiosk distance; standalone headsets may need baked or simplified cloth.
Body mesh stays under the clothes. The character's body was sculpted nude or in tight clothing (ZBrush — Sculpting for MetaHuman); the costume shapes the silhouette.
Performance budget. Keep polygon counts and simulated panels low for the Optimized assembly.
License. Personal licences are not allowed for company use (MD can revoke them). Studio options are Enterprise ($199/month or $2,000/yr) or the Indie licence announced January 2026 (at least 2 employees, under $500K revenue, registered company; Enterprise benefits, price on application). Ask for an Indie quote before buying.
Runtime. Outfit resizing is done in the editor and cooked; it does not happen at runtime. Standalone headsets and phones start with skinned-only garments (Tutorial — Period Layers, Hoops and Skirts).

Owners: costume designer, cloth artist. Tutorials: Marvelous Designer — Tutorials · start here: Tutorial — Getting Started with Marvelous Designer · step by step: Tutorial — Marvelous Designer Garment to MetaHuman Outfit