Subdivision won't improve it. I'd say his best bet is to UV-unwrap the model; that would considerably reduce -but not totally eliminate- the UV distortion. If he discards UV mapping and uses procedural texturing, his options of decorative patterns will be limited.

Poser 12, in feet.  

OSes:  Win7Prox64, Win7Ultx64

Silo Pro 2.5.6 64bit, Vue Infinite 2014.7, Genetica 4.0 Studio, UV Mapper Pro, UV Layout Pro, PhotoImpact X3, GIF Animator 5