Why red and what type of red when it comes to the garments of St Mary Magdalene?
To highlight theelement of wealth and nobility* in the woman which, when freed from evil spirits , followed and supported materially Jesus throughout His teaching along with other women (named Holy Myrrh-bearers in the Orthodox Church), risked and gave everything for Him and rewarded by being the first to Witness His resurrection.
And I believe that is the same element we highlight by painting martyrs in red- The element of nobility, acquired not by heritage but by their virtues and their suffering.
Maybe to
* Tyrian red or "Tyrian purple" (porhyra/purpura) - In antiquity and until the first fall of Constantinople in 1204- purple was made by an extravangantly expensive dye and was reserved as a color only for the garments of the Emperors and of the very- very rich.
Now in art, Tyrian purple can be interpreted as a very rich colour ranging from a bluish purple- to lushius dried blood red and is reserved to show wealth and authority
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