I’ve had the opportunity to work for (and still do some freelancing) for some very big fashion brands. I’ve designed both women’s shoes and men’s shoes for a couple of the big players in each space. Just to toot my own horn real quick, my favorite all time favorite design was for JustFab where you can see my design (the Judy wedge) on their shoes page as one of the top sellers.
I’ve also contributed some freelance work for some smaller specialty companies for both men and women and there is obviously a major difference in coming up with design for womens shoes than there is for mens.