Vanessa Rust graduated in 2013 with a degree in Fashion and Textile Management from Akademie JAK in Hamburg. From 2014 to 2017, she worked as a costume assistant at Schauspiel Dortmund. During this time, she created her first independent works for sputnic’s live animation performance and Jan Friedrich.

Vanessa Rust also created the costume designs at the Schaubühne (directed by Bastian Reiber), Volkstheater Wien (directed by Jan Friedrich, Kai Voges), Residenztheater München (directed by Claudia Bauer, Nora Schlocker), Opernhaus Kassel, Deutsches Theater Berlin, Hamburger Schauspielhaus (directed by Claudia Bauer), Theater an der Wien, Oper Hannover, and Opernhaus Magdeburg (directed by Ilaria Lanzino).

The production “Tartuffe oder Das Schwein der Weisen” at Theater Basel (directed by Claudia Bauer) was invited to the Theatertreffen 2019 and was awarded Best Costume Design 2019 by the theatre magazine Theater heute.