diff --git a/frontend/src/components/Live2DStage.tsx b/frontend/src/components/Live2DStage.tsx
index 3434677..f5a3b3f 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/Live2DStage.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/Live2DStage.tsx
@@ -12,7 +12,8 @@ interface Props {
  *   - Kira (center panel)
  *   - Mochi the cat (PetZone, bottom of right sidebar)
  *
- * Canvas sits behind UI panels (z-0, pointer-events: none).
+ * Canvas sits above UI panels (z-50, pointer-events: none) so Live2D
+ * models render on top of the frosted-glass sidebars.
  * Cat position is dynamically measured from the [data-petzone] DOM element.
  */
 
@@ -50,9 +51,7 @@ function positionCat(cat: any) {
 export default function Live2DStage({ onKiraReady, onReady, outfit }: Props) {
   const canvasRef = useRef<HTMLCanvasElement>(null);
   const kiraModelRef = useRef<any>(null);
-  const clothTexIdxRef = useRef<number>(-1);
   const pixiAppRef = useRef<any>(null);
-  const defaultOutfitRef = useRef<any>(null);
 
   useEffect(() => {
     let mounted = true;
@@ -104,16 +103,6 @@ export default function Live2DStage({ onKiraReady, onReady, outfit }: Props) {
 
         kiraModelRef.current = kiraModel;
 
-        // Find the clothing texture index (texture_02 = the outfit sheet)
-        try {
-          const textures = kiraModel.textures;
-          if (textures && textures.length >= 3) {
-            clothTexIdxRef.current = 2; // texture_02 is the outfit
-            // Save the default outfit texture so we can restore it
-            defaultOutfitRef.current = textures[2];
-          }
-        } catch {}
-
         try { kiraModel.motion('Idle'); } catch {}
         try { kiraModel.expression('Normal'); } catch {}
 
@@ -126,7 +115,6 @@ export default function Live2DStage({ onKiraReady, onReady, outfit }: Props) {
           });
           if (!mounted) return;
 
-          // Small delay to ensure PetZone DOM is rendered
           await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 100));
           positionCat(catModel);
           (catModel as any).isInteractive = () => false;
@@ -154,56 +142,73 @@ export default function Live2DStage({ onKiraReady, onReady, outfit }: Props) {
     // eslint-disable-next-line react-hooks/exhaustive-deps
   }, []);
 
-  // Outfit swap: load PNG → create WebGL texture → inject into Cubism renderer
+  // Outfit swap effect
+  //
+  // The cubism4 _render loop (cubism4.es.js:4955-4965) iterates model.textures[]
+  // every frame. For each entry it calls:
+  //   renderer.texture.bind(texture.baseTexture, 0)    -- uploads to GPU if needed
+  //   internalModel.bindTexture(i, glTextureHandle)     -- tells Cubism to use it
+  //
+  // So the correct fix is to replace model.textures[2] with a new PIXI.Texture
+  // whose BaseTexture is loaded from the outfit PNG. On the next frame, the
+  // render loop will detect the missing _glTextures entry, upload the new image
+  // to WebGL, and pass the handle to the Cubism renderer.
   useEffect(() => {
     const model = kiraModelRef.current;
-    const texIdx = clothTexIdxRef.current;
-    if (!model || texIdx < 0 || !outfit) return;
+    if (!model || !outfit) return;
 
     const outfitSrc = `/live2d/models/kira/outfits/${outfit}.png`;
+
+    // Find the clothing texture index by checking which texture file is at index 2
+    // model.textures[] is PIXI.Texture[] populated during model load from
+    // the texture_00.png, texture_01.png, texture_02.png files.
+    // texture_02 = clothes layer.
+    const CLOTH_IDX = 2;
+    const textures: any[] = model.textures;
+    if (!textures || textures.length <= CLOTH_IDX) {
+      console.warn('[outfit] model.textures too short:', textures?.length);
+      return;
+    }
+
     let cancelled = false;
 
-    // Load the outfit image
-    const img = new Image();
-    img.crossOrigin = 'anonymous';
-    img.onload = () => {
+    // Use PIXI's BaseTexture.from() which uses the shared texture cache
+    // and handles the image loading pipeline properly.
+    import('pixi.js').then((PIXI) => {
       if (cancelled) return;
 
-      try {
-        const renderer = pixiAppRef.current?.renderer;
-        if (!renderer) { console.warn('[outfit] no renderer'); return; }
-
-        const gl: WebGLRenderingContext = renderer.gl || renderer.CONTEXT?.gl;
-        if (!gl) { console.warn('[outfit] no GL context'); return; }
-
-        // 1. Create a new WebGL texture from the outfit image
-        const newGLTex = gl.createTexture();
-        if (!newGLTex) { console.warn('[outfit] failed to create GL texture'); return; }
-
-        gl.bindTexture(gl.TEXTURE_2D, newGLTex);
-        gl.texParameteri(gl.TEXTURE_2D, gl.TEXTURE_WRAP_S, gl.CLAMP_TO_EDGE);
-        gl.texParameteri(gl.TEXTURE_2D, gl.TEXTURE_WRAP_T, gl.CLAMP_TO_EDGE);
-        gl.texParameteri(gl.TEXTURE_2D, gl.TEXTURE_MIN_FILTER, gl.LINEAR);
-        gl.texParameteri(gl.TEXTURE_2D, gl.TEXTURE_MAG_FILTER, gl.LINEAR);
-        gl.pixelStorei(gl.UNPACK_FLIP_Y_WEBGL, 1);
-        gl.texImage2D(gl.TEXTURE_2D, 0, gl.RGBA, gl.RGBA, gl.UNSIGNED_BYTE, img);
-        gl.bindTexture(gl.TEXTURE_2D, null);
-
-        // 2. Inject directly into the Cubism renderer's texture map
-        //    bypassing PIXI entirely
-        const cubismRenderer = model.internalModel?.renderer;
-        if (cubismRenderer && typeof cubismRenderer.bindTexture === 'function') {
-          cubismRenderer.bindTexture(texIdx, newGLTex);
-          console.log(`[outfit] injected GL texture for idx=${texIdx}: ${outfit}`);
-        } else {
-          console.warn('[outfit] no cubism renderer or bindTexture');
-        }
-      } catch (e) {
-        console.warn('[outfit] swap failed:', e);
+      // Destroy old GL texture cache entry for the cloth slot
+      const oldTex = textures[CLOTH_IDX];
+      const ctxId = pixiAppRef.current?.renderer?.CONTEXT_UID;
+      if (oldTex?.baseTexture?._glTextures?.[ctxId]) {
+        delete oldTex.baseTexture._glTextures[ctxId];
       }
-    };
-    img.onerror = () => { console.warn(`[outfit] failed to load ${outfitSrc}`); };
-    img.src = outfitSrc;
+
+      // Create new BaseTexture from the outfit URL (PIXI handles the Image load)
+      const newBase = PIXI.BaseTexture.from(outfitSrc, {
+        scaleMode: PIXI.SCALE_MODES.LINEAR,
+      });
+
+      const doSwap = () => {
+        if (cancelled) return;
+        const newTex = new PIXI.Texture(newBase);
+        textures[CLOTH_IDX] = newTex;
+
+        // Force-delete any cached GL texture so the render loop re-uploads
+        if (newBase._glTextures?.[ctxId]) {
+          delete newBase._glTextures[ctxId];
+        }
+
+        console.log(`[outfit] swapped texture[${CLOTH_IDX}] → ${outfit}`);
+      };
+
+      if (newBase.valid) {
+        doSwap();
+      } else {
+        newBase.once('loaded', doSwap);
+        newBase.once('error', (e: any) => console.warn('[outfit] baseTexture load error:', e));
+      }
+    }).catch(e => console.warn('[outfit] pixi import failed:', e));
 
     return () => { cancelled = true; };
   }, [outfit]);