Apologies for not being able to point to a direct quote, but I believe in a prior interview (when they first started talking about the engine upgrades) YoshiP had specifically called out the idea that there would be an improvement in the amount of "bones" things like cloth and hair XIV would have going forward.

This was in an interview before FFXVI was released, and he was discussing how its development had opened his eyes to how much more detail you can include as the baseline specs of your game increase.

So they were at least planning some improvement in those areas back then. Still hoping they'll make it in.