Annika Lu is a freelance costume and stage designer.
She studied fashion design at the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg and at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. After her studies, she assisted at the Ballet at Theater Basel, Schauspiel Dortmund, Burgtheater Vienna, National Theater Oslo and at Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg. During this time, she implemented the costume painting for various productions, including ›Das Internat‹ at the Schauspiel Dortmund. This was followed by several works as a costume designer with Ersan Mondtag, including Elfriede Jelinek's ›Wut‹ at Schauspiel Köln and ›Antikrist‹ at Deutsche Oper Berlin (awarded with the Oper! Award 2023 for best costume design).

She also has ongoing collaborations with Tobias Staab, les dramaturx and Emre Akal. In 2023, Annika Lu started realizing stage designs for les dramaturx and Emre Akal (›Meister Röckle‹ at Theater Magdeburg and ›Nachkommen - Ein lautes Schweigen!‹ at Theater Münster).

In the 23/24 season, she is working with Ulrich Rasche at Schauspielhaus Bochum.

Annika Lu’s works are akin to the visual arts. In addition to her work in the theater, she develops paintings, which in turn are influenced by her work as a costume and stage designer.

Annika Lu lives in Hamburg.